Animorphs 55: The End
by JohnDoe3000001
Summary: Animorphs #54 left you hanging. This sequel will not.
1. The End: Chapter 1

**#55-The End**

# Chapter 1

My name is Tobias.

I am a boy. I am also a hawk. A freak of nature, a misfit, fill in your own word. It's hard to describe it. My natural body is that of a red-tail hawk. For two hours at a time, I can become my human self, the body I was born with.

I was born as a human. If you saw me, you wouldn't find anything extraordinary about me. I was tall for my age, had wavy blond hair, and my eyes were brown. They always had this dreamy look, like I was somewhere else, far away.

I never liked my life. I had been told that my mother had run away, and my father had died. I was shuffled between a drunk uncle and an aunt who didn't care for me. The bullies picked on me every day in school. I was deathly scared of first period gym class.

Then my life changed forever.

One night, I was heading home from the mall. I hooked up with Jake and Marco. They weren't really my friends. Jake had saved me from getting my head flushed down the toilet once, so I hung around him. Marco didn't seem to know I was there. They were arguing over some video game, anything normal kids would talk about.

Outside of the mall, we hooked up with Rachel and Cassie. Rachel was Jake's cousin. She looked like your typical mall rat, until she broke both of your arms. There was this fierce warrior inside her that was about to be unlocked. Cassie was Rachel's best friend. I didn't know much about her then, either.

There was an abandoned construction site outside of the mall. We could walk around it, which would have taken us longer to get home. Or we could take the shortcut, through the site, and hope no ax murderers would get us.

We went through the construction site.

Then we saw it.

I spotted it first. A spaceship was flying towards the construction site. It crash-landed a few feet from where we stood. And it was there that we first learned of the Yeerk invasion of Earth.

An Andalite prince named Elfangor was in the spacecraft. He was mortally wounded, and he was going to die. Nothing could change that.

He told us about the Yeerks. He told what Yeerks were, and what their mission was. He told us about how the Andalites fought the Yeerks. And he gave us the power to morph.

A very powerful and dangerous weapon that only the Andalites possessed. By touching an animal, we would 'acquire' its DNA. And then we could 'morph' that animal.

There was one drawback: you can only stay in morph for two hours. Otherwise, you're trapped in that morph forever. Permanently.

Like me.

Elfangor told us to use the technology to fight the Yeerks. Then the Yeerks came, and killed him. While he was dying, Elfangor told us of his killer, then Visser Three.

Visser Three was the only Yeerk to ever take control of an Andalite body. That Andalite had the power to morph, so Visser Three could morph as well. Elfangor said he would be our greatest enemy.

Then we hid, scared to death, as Visser Three morphed a monstrous alien and kill Elfangor.

Yeerks, in their natural form, are no more than gray slugs. A snail without its shell. In that state, they are utterly helpless, blind and deaf to the surroundings around them. But they are parasites. They have the ability to take control of a body.

The Yeerk crawls in through the ear. It burrows its way through the ear canal. Some painkiller is applied by the Yeerk as it tunnels through the soft tissue, and into you brain. There, it wraps itself like a blanket over your brain. The Yeerk seeps into every crevice and convolution. It ties itself into your neurons, and controls your body.

A person controlled by a Yeerk is helpless. The Yeerk does your homework. It moves your fingers as you change the channel on TV. It moves your legs, forcing you to walk. Your mouth is moved by the Yeerk, telling your family lies, maybe even betraying them. And you can do nothing.

Being a Controller is worse than death. I believe it.

The Yeerks first enslaved the Gedds, a clumsy species found on their home planet. But there weren't enough Gedds to give every Yeerk a host. So they expanded.

They enslaved the Hork-Bajir, a peaceful species. They are covered with blades, which are meant to be used to cut bark from trees. But the Yeerks saw an entire planet of host bodies that were walking killing machines. They enslaved the entire Hork-Bajir race. By the time the Andalites showed up, it was too late.

The Yeerks allied themselves with the Taxxons. Taxxons look like giant yellow centipedes. They have an uncontrollable hunger. The Yeerks knew this. Even a Yeerk could not control the eternal hunger of a Taxxon. So they offered the Taxxons promises of exotic new foods, if they accepted control under the Yeerks. The Taxxons accepted. They will eat anything, even themselves.

We fought the Yeerks. After the first battle, I was trapped in hawk morph. I had been a hawk for longer than two hours. The Andalite word for me is _nothlit-a person trapped in morph._

I sometimes wonder whether it was the right choice. No longer did I have to worry about getting beat up at the bus stop. I didn't have to worry about doing homework. That life was behind me.

My new life consisted of eating mice for breakfast, and worrying about owls and golden eagles eyeing me for dinner. I didn't completely rid myself of problems.

Nevertheless, we continued to fight the Yeerks. For three years, we battled them. They thought we were Andalites, because we had the power to morph. For a long time, they never suspected we were human.

We did damage to the Yeerks. We were able to free some Hork-Bajir, and created a free Hork-Bajir colony. For the first time in years, there were Hork-Bajir that weren't enslaved to the Yeerks.

It was then I regained my power to morph. The powerful being known as the Ellimist gave it back to me, in exchange for helping the free Hork-Bajir. My natural body was still a hawk. But I could morph again.

We were later joined by Ax, Elfangor's brother. The five of us, with Ax, fought the Yeerks. We did an incredible job of holding back the Yeerks, considering we were outnumbered six to a zillion.

Eventually, they realized we were actually humans. Those of us that were still human had to abandon their homes and live in the valley of the free Hork-Bajir.

The final battle was fought after we blew up their ground-based Yeerk pool. We were able to get aboard the Yeerk Pool ship, with the help of Jake's brother, Tom.

He was a Controller.

We managed to capture the Pool ship, but Jake knew he would betray us. Tom was aboard the Blade ship of Visser One, formerly Visser Three. He was going to destroy the Pool ship.

Jake had sent Rachel with Tom. He knew what Tom would do. And he sent her without telling any of us.

It was the right decision, probably. I hated Jake for it. I never would have let Rachel go by herself. But she didn't tell me, either. Obviously, she trusted Jake.

Just as Tom was about to blow up the Pool ship, Rachel attacked. She had morphed grizzly bear, and her job was to kill Tom.

She was able to do that. While Tom was in cobra morph, she killed him. But the other members of Tom's crew, also morph-capable, had damaged the bear greatly. Rachel had no choice. She had to demorph. And in her human form, she stood no chance. A Yeerk in polar bear morph killed her with a single swipe of his paw.

In all those three years, there were a million times we should have died, and yet we managed to all get out alive. I guess Rachel's luck ran out.

Her death was hard on me. Rachel was the only person that really cared deeply for me. Before I became a _nothlit, I was alone. I had no family. No friends. Rachel was my only good friend. More than a friend, really._

And she was dead.

After the war, I ran away. Ran away from the complexities of life, ran away from the past. It seemed as though the world never was fair to me. I was alone again, and I didn't want to be near people. Whenever I saw two people in love, I thought about me and Rachel.

Pathetic, isn't it? But I didn't want to be tortured by something I knew I would never have.

I had a nice meadow in a section of Yellowstone National Park. Only Cassie knew I lived there, and of course, I swore her to secrecy. I spent my days hunting and flying. The Hork-Bajir, now freed from their Yeerk overlords, now lived in Yellowstone. Their leader, Toby, also knew where I lived.

I visited the Hork-Bajir sometimes. It made me happy to know that I had done something that changed the world.

I was happy with my life. Well, as happy as I would ever be. I was alone, and I was used to that. I was going to live out my days eating mice and wondering what my life might have been. But I knew that sooner or later, I would be called back into society. There was no way avoiding it.

It happened while I was watching some campers. They were obviously in love, and again, I was torturing myself by thinking what might have been. Suddenly, Toby came swinging up to me, and a wolf trotted behind her.

Toby was named after me. The Hork-Bajir see me as their liberator, and her parents were the first free Hork-Bajir. It was an honor.

Who is it? I demanded angrily, knowing there was no way it was an ordinary wolf. Had to be Cassie, yet I had an unsettling feeling it was someone else…

It's me, Tobias, Jake said.

He started demorphing. The two campers began taking pictures like mad and that didn't make me any happier. Hey, Ken and Barbie, knock it off! This is my meadow. If you want to stay, sit down and be quiet! I yelled at the campers in thought-speak.

I didn't mean to sound harsh. But I was troubled by Jake's appearance. It had been a long time since I had seen him. I thought I still hated him. I hadn't seen him since Rachel…

Jake had finished demorphing. He was a little taller now. The boy general I remembered from the war days had disappeared. He was now a man, a young man, but with the eyes of someone who had seen better days. It had been a long time since I'd seen him.

The campers were staring at Jake. Of course they would know who he was. Everyone on the planet did. And unless they were stupider than I thought, they would figure out who I was. Even though Earth had changed a lot during the years after the war, not many birds yelled at people.

Well, Jake, what's up with you? I asked as steadily as I could.

"I'm doing good," he replied. He wanted to tell me something. Jake never was good at concealing his feelings.

You're older.

"So are you."

Well, it was fun catching up. Bye. I spread my wings, ready to fly off. I didn't feel like talking to Jake.

"It's about Ax," Jake said.

At that moment, I wished I had immediately flown off. I really did. But Ax said I was his _shorm, a word for someone who is closer than a friend. Later, we found out that we were actually related. Amazing, isn't it._

What about Ax? I asked.


	2. The End: Chapter 2

# Chapter 2

"A couple of Andalite guys came to the base where I teach," Jake said. We were cruising down some highway in his Jaguar convertible. We were going down to pick up Marco.

I was trying to speak as little as possible. I was still angry at Jake for sending Rachel alone on the Blade ship. I guess I hold grudges longer than most people.

For the first time since the war, I morphed. Currently, I was in my human form. It was nice, actually. The wind whipping through my hair, and feeling the rush of air blasting at my face. All feelings I hadn't experienced in a long time.

If I had stayed in my hawk morph, it would have been hard to stay in one place without ruining the car. Even though I didn't like Jake, I didn't want to mess up his stuff. Plus, it would look a little weird if a red-tail hawk was in a car.

"Ax's ship, _Intrepid_, came upon what appeared to be an abandoned alien ship. He took himself and some of his crew to the ship because there were signs of Earth-based DNA, even though no life-form was on the ship."

That got my attention. Until then, I had mostly been looking at the passing scenery. "Earth-based DNA? But how…" Why would there be any living thing from Earth that deep in space? I was puzzled, and that made me angry. I wasn't used to being stumped.

"Ax found the source of the DNA. They were polar bear hairs." Jake stopped speaking. He looked at me impassively, but I knew he was trying to read my emotions.

That was a waste of time for him. I hadn't been human in so long, I forgot how to make facial expressions. Mostly I had the intense stare of a hawk.

Polar bear hairs? How would those get there?, I wondered.

Then it hit me. A polar bear killed Rachel. The Blade ship. It must have been the same Yeerk. All of a sudden, I was back to that horrible day on the Pool ship. I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn't make any sounds. I was choking up.

"Suddenly, the ship fired on the _Intrepid_. Many Andalites died, and the ship was severely damaged," Jake continued. He acted as though he didn't notice my reaction. "The Blade ship emerged from within the alien ship, and both blew away into Kelbrid space."

"Who are the Kelbrid?" I interrupted. I had never heard of these aliens before. Ax had a tendency to blabber about aliens, but I didn't recall him ever saying something about Kelbrid aliens.

Again, I was stumped, and that made me madder at myself.

"Nobody knows much about them, even the Andalites. Supposedly, they have a treaty with the Andalites. No Andalites enter Kelbrid space, and no Kelbrids enter Andalite space," Jake replied.

"So the Blade ship is allied with these Kelbrid?"

"I don't really know. The first officer of the _Intrepid_ will be with us. His name is Mendaresh, and he's permanently in human morph. He might know more, but that's all he told me."

I knew that Jake wasn't telling the whole story, but I didn't feel like pressing him for information. Ax was captured? That didn't make sense.

All Andalite warriors would rather kill themselves than be captured. And yet, the first officer of his ship said he was still alive. Unless the Andalites had changed their military doctrine, he should be dead by now.

But why would the first officer trap himself in a human body? That confused me. Giving up an Andalite body for a human body was like trading in a nice meadow for a space in captivity.

"Why did he become a _nothlit_?!" I asked, trying to sound surprised. I had forgotten how to alter the sound of my voice to show emotion.

"If he entered Kelbrid space, he might trigger off a huge war between the Kelbrid and Andalites," Jake said.

That made sense. We didn't exactly want to go and start some huge interstellar war. All we wanted to do was save Ax.

"Okay," I said. I didn't say anything else. My mind was spinning with all this new information. I hadn't thought so much since the war.

"We're just about there," Jake said. We were now in Santa Barbara, which is where Marco lived. It was one of the few things I knew about my former friends.

"I'm going to demorph," I said. It was getting close to the two-hour limit, and I didn't want to get stuck in my human body.

I hopped in the back seat and concentrated on the hawk. And I felt the changes begin.

Morphing is never logical. I've seen some gross things. Watching someone morph from an insect back to human would make anyone want to hurl.

CRAAAAAAAAACK. My bones became smaller as I transformed back to hawk. My toes became thin as they became talons.

My nose was sucked into my face as my mouth grew out and formed into a beak. A feather pattern appeared over my skin, as it transformed into reddish-brown feathers.

WHOOOOOSH. My arms were sucked in a little as they became wings. My arms flattened out, so that they could flap and keep me aloft.

After a couple more minutes of shifting, cracking, and realigning, I was in my natural body. A red-tail hawk.

"We're here," Jake announced. He got out of the car and started walking to the front door.

I spread my wings and flew out of the car. It was a nice day, so I was able to catch a thermal and glide.

I wondered if Jake thought I would fly away. The idea had passed my mind, and I found it fairly enticing. But I wouldn't run away and not save Ax. Jake knew that, and he trusted me.

Marco's house was huge. It had tons of space. Why would he need so much space?, I wondered.

The backyard was huge as well. He had an enormous pool, as well as a few palm trees growing around as well. Marco must have been making a nice amount of money.

Marco himself was in the pool. But he seemed to be changing. His skin was a sort of greenish-blue, and his skin looked crustaceous. He was morphing a lobster.

I remembered when Ax, Marco, and Jake had used that morph to escape Controller cops. They morphed lobsters and hid in tanks. One problem: they were in a restaurant. Marco nearly got cooked for dinner.

Someone answered the door. It must have been a servant, a butler, something like that.

Jake walked in and spotted Marco at the other end of the pool. He was smiling a little, as if he were remembering a fond memory.

"Well, if it isn't Lobster Boy," Jake remarked.

Marco must have said something to Jake in thought-speak. I couldn't here it.

"Uh-huh. Some reason why you're morphing to lobster?" Jake queried.

I was getting impatient. This was a waste of time, and every minute we wasted, Ax was being taken further away.

Marco must have replied, because Jake said, "Well, then it's a good thing you have the ability to turn into a lobster, because otherwise, what would you do? I mean, normal people, they drop their keys in the pool, they're just totally helpless. Those keys stay down there. Forever."

I could tell Marco knew something was happening. He stopped becoming a lobster, and morphed back to human.

"You seem perky, today. You want something to drink?" Marco asked.

"What are you going to do, morph to cow and squeeze me out a glass of two percent?" Jake retorted?

Marco had a curious look on his face. "I take that as a no? Wetherbee? Can you bring out a diet Coke?" he said. The servant went away to fetch the drink. "There's definitely something wrong with you, Jake. You're being way too clever. Way too quick. What's up? You finally go on Prozac?" Marco said.

Jake winced a little. I guess Jake never acted this way. Marco could tell Jake wasn't hiding anything. As I said before, Jake doesn't do a good job of concealing his feelings.

Marco flopped out on a long chair, while Jake sat down. Jake looked up at me and smiled a little. Marco looked up, and saw me. He sat up suddenly.

At that instant, Marco knew something was wrong. He had a shocked look on his face. He knew I hated Jake for what he had done to Rachel. He knew I would never go with Jake unless it was important. _Very _important.

Marco drank his Coke. His whole body was trembling, as if he were freezing on this hot day. He was scared, nervous.

"You're about to ruin my life, aren't you?" Marco said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"That depends," Jake answered.

"Yeah, right," Marco said sarcastically. "So, what is it?"

Jake told Marco everything he had told me. With every sentence, Marco looked like he knew he was trapped. He was going to come with us. There was no question about it. I knew he would whine for awhile about losing his wonderful life, but he would come.

I got tired of staying in the air. I swooped down and landed on the table between Jake and Marco. I could hear better from down here than up in the sky.

"So where's the other Horsewoman of the Apocalypse?" Marco asked of Cassie.

"Cassie? She's not coming on this one," Jake responded.

"Good for you," Marco said with a nod. "At least you have that much sense.

"She's doing what she needs to be doing," Jake said. Wrong thing to say.

"And I'm not?" Marco replied angrily.

I would have said something then, but I didn't want to get Marco upset. He already didn't want to go. He would come, but he would be very reluctant.

"So now, you're rounding up the whole gang, huh?" Marco said. "Like one of those over-the-hill-gunfighters movies? Like our parts should be played by Clint Eastwood and James Garner?" He gave me a look. "And Foghorn Leghorn?" he added.

Marco, you're not even twenty. I'm old, for a red-tail. You, you're not even old enough to drink, I said.

"Yeah? Well, I aged in gorilla years," Marco whined. He looked at me and Jake. I wasn't impressed by Marco's behavior, and Jake seemed to be irritated.

It had been three years since I had last seen Marco. I would have thought he had grown up a little. He still acted like a child, the same way he did when we first started fighting the Yeerks, a distant six years ago.

Marco was annoyed, and when he was annoyed, he tended to say things that got other people mad. This wasn't going to be fun.

"You sure you're up for this Jake?" Marco pressed. "You haven't been exactly living the American Dream since your last war."

Jake's face turned a little red. Marco was mad as well. Great.

I was a little curious what Jake had done after the war. But I didn't care. I didn't feel like hearing their stories, and then getting pity dumped on me. I had moved on.

"Well, maybe we live and learn," Jake shot back.

"What have you learned?" Marco snapped. "You've been all depressed, and now you see a way out because someone's giving you another chance to play war?"

"Maybe," Jake said softly.

Marco groaned, as if he hadn't wanted to hear that. "Okay, Jake-man, I'll cut the baloney if you will." He leaned towards Jake.

Finally. I had been waiting for Marco to say something useful.

"You're my friend. Ax is my friend. On a good day I can even stand the flea-bitten buzzard here."

Flea-bitten buzzard? That made me mad at Marco. But I had put up with his insulting remarks for three years. I could deal with it.

"…been messed up behind some hard decisions you made," Marco continued. "And now you want to go make more hard decisions?"

"I learned from my mistakes," Jake said defensively. "This time, maybe I'll do it differently. Some things at least."

Marco sighed. He was about to give Jake his two cents. And if Jake got battered by Marco's words, I'd be glad. I never talked to Jake about his decision to send up Rachel with Tom. I'm not that kind of person. Maybe Marco would do the job here, and make Jake realize what he's done.

"Okay, Jake, I'm in," Marco started. "I'll go with you. You know that. But here's what you need to realize going in: If you're in charge you're going to end up right back in the same swamp you didn't like the first time."

"Marco, I-" Jake began to say.

"Shut up for a minute," Marco said. Jake fell silent. "Listen, if I'm putting my life on the line with you again, the price you pay is to listen to me now. Back in the day, Jake, you made more heavy decisions than any ten men would have to in a hundred lifetimes. You made life-and-death calls. You got us up to our butts in alligators, and you got us back out. And, sorry, it's not what people think, that you were some kind of military genius. I'm better at tactics than you are."

Jake had this stony look on his face. I was happy to see that arrogant smirk wiped off his face.

And humble, too, I added for no reason.

"It's true, and Jake knows it," Marco resumed. "Jake, you won because you didn't scare. You didn't panic, you didn't scare, and you didn't play a part or strike poses wondering what history would think. You made the right calls without regard to all that. But then, when the shooting was all over, you started questioning everything you did. You armchair quarterbacked your entire life and decided you made mistakes. Well, no kidding. Surprise: You're not a god."

"This time I won't make mistakes," Jake said.

Yeah, right, I said to myself.

"Don't tell me that. You want a zero-screwup fight?" Marco asked.

"I got Rachel killed," Jake said.

At that point, I zoned out. Whenever I thought of Rachel, I spiraled back in time to the final battle, the day we captured the Pool ship.

For the millionth time, I remembered standing on the bridge of the Pool ship. I was in my human morph, looking at the viewscreen. Rachel was there, surrounded on all sides by Yeerks in morph. She was so close, and yet so far away.

"I love you," she said to me.

I had been crying. I knew she was dead, and nothing could save her. I was helpless, standing there, knowing, watching, crying.

Why had life been so cruel to me?

"So, you're in, right?" Jake asked Marco. I shook myself out of my funk.

"Of course," Marco said with a deep sigh. "What's next, fearless leader?"


	3. The End: Chapter 3

# Chapter 3

We were flying towards the Twenty-nine Palms Marine Corps base. Jake worked there as a professor of infiltration, surveillance, and combat with animals morphs. He was teaching and training an elite antiterrorist group.

If I was in a better mood, I might have found it funny. None of the Animorphs had ever graduated high school. I'm sure every member of the antiterrorism unit had graduated college. And they were calling a high school dropout 'Professor'.

The students of Jake had been given the ability to morph. It disturbed me, even though I didn't really care.

For the longest time, we were the only humans who could morph. We were different. We were special, if you wanted to say that. Then the Yeerks had taken the blue box from us, which gives people the power to morph. We had lost our single greatest advantage in the battle with the Yeerks.

But now ordinary soldiers were receiving the morphing power? I questioned the thinking behind the motive. Sure, with the increased terrorist attacks on Andalite tourists and the free Hork-Bajir, something needed to be done. But this wasn't the right answer.

What if one of the soldiers retired? Decided he didn't want to be part of the unit? As far as I knew, there was no way to take away the morphing power once it was acquired.

What if one of the soldiers became a criminal? A spy to another country? There were infinite problems with giving more people the morphing ability.

But it wasn't my problem. My job right now was to save Ax.

This almost looks like Area 51, Marco was saying. He was in his osprey morph. I'm telling you, it's all desert, a few nice square buildings. In the middle of nowhere. Maybe they're hiding aliens here. Covering up the Roswell landing.

Jake sighed. The peregrine falcon said, Marco, we know the truth about aliens. Why would you even care?

It's a conspiracy theory. The government is covering up something. If they captured an Andalite ship, or part of a Yeerk ship, there would be no reason to cover it up. It has to be some other alien species.

Whenever we went on missions, Marco had a tendency to come up with crazy ideas about a wide variety of things.

You don't even know there are aliens at Area 51, Jake replied. Have you actually been there?

I've played the video game, Marco said.

Very funny.

We kept flying for a long time. I should have morphed to a duck. They can fly for hours and not get tired. My hawk body was tiring.

I could barely see. The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. We were the only three birds flying.

Are we almost there? Marco asked. My osprey body is getting worn out by all this flapping. Why aren't there any thermals, Tobias?

Like I controlled the thermals.

I didn't answer his question. It was a stupid one, anyways. I didn't feel like talking. My body was tiring, and I just wanted to get to the base.

Almost there, Jake said. It shouldn't be too far.

So what exactly are we doing? Marco questioned.

That was a good question. I didn't think the Andalites would simply allow us to take a ship and fly right into Kelbrid space. That would probably trigger a major war.

An Andalite prince has told two Andalites to wait on the outskirts of the base for a terrorist, who will deliver them vital information about an impending terrorist attack on Andalite tourists.

Well, that's great. Which one of us is the terrorist? Marco joked.

There will be no terrorist. We have to find some way to overpower the Andalites and steal their shuttle. Then, we will fly up to a prototype Yeerk ship, fully fueled and waiting in orbit. We ditch the shuttle and take the Yeerk ship. Hopefully, we can speed out of there before the orbiting Andalite ships blow us up.

Oh, that's just great, Marco pouted. We have to first get by two Andalites, and then we have to outrace a couple of Andalite ships? Are you sure you've planned this all out, Jake?

Don't worry, I'll figure something out, Jake responded.

The truth was, I wasn't worried. Although it's not something I'd openly admit, Jake was a good planner. I knew he's figure out something. Even on the most suicidal of missions we did, there was always some kind of plan.

Okay, we're here, Jake announced. The first officer of Ax's ship is coming with us, as well as two of my students. We're all going to morph to human, and we're going to drive towards where the Andalites are situated.

Why do we need two of your students? Marco asked skeptically.

I was worried, too. These people would be untrained, and I did not like the idea of inexperienced people going on this mission. I wasn't going to argue, though.

Six people worked before. I figured it'd work just as well, Jake said.

Six people. The six of us had defeated an entire empire. And now, half of the original six were returning to save a friend from a completely unknown empire.

We had gotten many lucky breaks in the war against the Yeerks. I didn't think we'd be so lucky this time. Often during the first war, I wondered how much longer we'd all survive.

Somehow we managed to all stay alive until the end. And then Rachel died.

I moved my mind of the topic. I didn't need to be thinking about the past. The past couldn't be changed. Or could it?

We swooped down to where the permanently morphed Andalite was waiting with Jake's students. The students seemed startled, but the Andalite knew who we were.

Jake and Marco demorphed, while I morphed into my human self. We were wearing spandex bike shirts and awfully tight t-shirts. The one thing we never figured out how to do was to morph normal clothes.

Jake spoke first. "Marco, Tobias, this is first officer Mendaresh of the Dome ship _Intrepid_. These are my two students, Santorelli and Jeanne."

I nodded absently. It didn't really matter. I wouldn't be speaking with them much.

"Guys, these are two of my fellow Animorphs, Marco and Tobias," Jake said to his students. Mendaresh probably knew who we were.

The students stared at us. I guess they hadn't met too many world heroes before.

"Hey," Marco said.

"Hi," I echoed softly.

"Okay guys, let's get down to business. Marco, Tobias, and I will go in the first Humvee. Santorelli, you drive the second one. Okay? Good, let's go," Jake said.

We piled into the first Humvee, while Jake's students and Mendaresh went in the second Humvee.

"How come I don't get to drive?" Marco complained.

"I remember quite well the times you drove," Jake said with a laugh, as he started the Humvee.

The two times Marco drove during missions, he nearly got his passengers killed. I wondered how he ever passed the driving test.

"I got my license now," Marco added.

"You still drive like a whacko," Jake replied.

We started moving across the desert. The sun was nearly gone, almost completely set behind the mountains now. I squinted to see clearly. Human eyes are so dim.

We hit a bump in the ground. All of us weren't wearing seat belts, so we all flew a couple of inches into the air.

"See? You really should have put Jeanne up here with us. A bump like that might bruise her. I could have protected her," Marco noted.

I rolled my eyes. Or at least tried to. Marco never did pass up an opportunity to get a lady's attention.

Jake sighed. "This is going to be a problem, isn't it?"

"What? Me and Jeanne? No problem at all. Obviously she wants me, and what woman doesn't? So I don't see any problem at all."

Marco also thinks every woman finds him attractive. He obviously didn't remember Rachel.

"Marco?" Jake said.

"Yes, Jake."

"If you wanted to chase women you could have stayed home."  
"Believe me, I wish I had. I had a good life. I had it all. They're going to have to cancel my show, do you realize that? But, hey, without me, who would take care of you and the winged wonder here?"

Marco had a TV show? That was laughable.

"Marco, you were bored out of your mind," Jake said.

"Yes, I was."

"If I hadn't asked you to come, you'd have killed me."

"Yes, Jake, I would."

I tuned out their conversation. I was trying to figure out how we would get past two Andalites. The three of us, in our strongest morphs, would not get past two Andalites. The other three were useless. I wondered how we would do this.

We turned the lights off and stopped. Marco said we had about three hundred yards to walk.

The rest of our group joined us as we loosened up.

"Okay. Santorelli? Jeanne? Call this your first nontraining mission," Jake said. He explained to them where we were going.

Marco came up to Jeanne. "Hi, I'm Marco," he said. "I have my own TV show."

"Here's the deal," Jake continued. "We need to take down these two Andalites but not hurt them in any serious way. A good pop alongside the head and they'll go down. But no cutting, slashing, or stabbing. These are our allies. We want this to look real, but we don't want anyone to go to the hospital."

Santorelli and Jeanne seemed to understand.

"Six against two," Jeanne said. "This is perhaps overkill?"

It was evident she had never seen Andalites in combat.

"Keel. Ovair-keel," Marco imitated. "I love your accent."

Mendaresh spoke for the first time. "They are Andalites. Six is hardly enough," he grumbled.

Jake smiled. "It's all in the morph you choose. Okay, tell you what, we'll do it with just two of us. Tobias? Please demorph and then to Andalite."

I immediately started demorphing. At last, we were doing something. We had wasted a lot of time. In a few minutes, I was an Andalite.

Marco had morphed a gorilla. Jake explained what he wanted us to do.

I shouted in open thought-speak. The Andalites must have heard me, because the hatch to the shuttle opened, and they stepped out. They were only looking at me with their main eyes. That wasn't good enough. I needed all their eyes pointed in my direction.

I was about to yell out in thought-speak again when I saw their stalk eyes turn my way, too. As soon as that happened, Marco dropped from the top of the shuttle and slammed their two heads together. The Andalites went down, unconscious.

We all boarded the shuttle. I demorphed.

I didn't pay attention to any of Marco's blabber. It was grinding my nerves down.

I don't know why I was annoyed. Before any mission, we generally spoke about the most pointless things. It was normal, because we were all nervous.

Maybe I had become too sensitive in my old age.

I looked out the window and saw Earth. It was a beautiful sight. Santorelli and Jeanne were grinning like babies with a new toy. It must be a sight for them to see Earth from outer space.

The first time we, the Animorphs, saw our planet from space, we were prisoners of the former Visser Three, on our way to the Yeerk mother ship. We really weren't paying much attention then. We were trying to figure out how to escape.

"Objective locked in, Captain," Mendaresh announced.

"All right. Take us in. Let's see what see looks like," Jake replied.

The Yeerk ship looked different from any of the other ships I had seen. It was bigger than a Bug fighter, but smaller than the Blade ship. It looked like a boomerang, with Dracon beams at each end.

"It looks tough enough," Marco surmised.

"It is very fast and packs a very powerful weapons array, for its size," Mendaresh said, describing the ship. "It carries no Bug fighters but does carry two small shuttlecraft. The Yeerks intended these cruiser-class ships to keep track of what they imagined would be a far-flung empire. As well as for escort duty."

"Well, it's ours now," Jake said, clearly not absorbing any of the information. "Okay, Mendaresh. Let's go aboard."

The _nothlit_ didn't move.

What was wrong here? Maybe the Andalite was uncomfortable taking orders from a human. We knew some Andalites were highly egotistical and arrogant. Was Mendaresh like that?

"It's nothing, Captain," Mendaresh said. I blew out a mental sigh. "Just a custom. We always name a ship before the first crewman boards-it's an old notion, a superstition, really. The thinking is that the ship must know who _it_ is before the crew can know it."

"Fair enough, Mendaresh. Our own superstition is that a ship is never an 'it', it's always a 'she'. Even if the ship is named after a male, it's a 'she'," Jake countered.

We stood there, the six of us, wondering what a good name would be.

The ship was a work of art. A beautiful thing. A dangerous weapon, and probably and exciting thing to ride. Why did those words seem familiar?

Beautiful, dangerous, exciting.

Beautiful, dangerous, exciting.

What was wrong with me? Was I losing my mind?

Then it hit me. The ship was just like her. Exactly like her.

"So, what do we call her?" Marco wondered.

She's beautiful. She's beautiful and dangerous and exciting, I said.

Jake looked at me, surprised. He must have been thinking the same thing. "Rachel?" he mouthed silently.

Marco saw us and laughed. "She would love it," he said, realizing what we both had been thinking. "A scary, deadly, cool-looking Yeerk ship on a doomed, suicidal, crazy mission that no one can ever know about? She would love it."

We all boarded the _Rachel_. Before we left, Mendaresh programmed the shuttle to crash near the Andalites. Then we hauled butt before the Andalites came after us.

Once again, we were on a mission.

A mission to save a good friend.


	4. The End: Chapter 4

# Chapter 4

It was six months since we'd left Earth. We were in Kelbrid space, and we didn't find anything. No Blade ship. No weird-looking alien ship. Six months, and we found absolutely nothing.

I was starting to doubt whether these Kelbrid actually existed. It could have been a myth, and the Andalites simply didn't know it. Perhaps the Ellimist had created the story of the Kelbrid to keep the Andalites from exploring certain areas of space.

I had almost given up on hoping Ax. Even if we found the Blade ship, he'd probably be dead by now. It'd been a long time since he'd been captured.

But I still hoped.

There wasn't much to do on the ship. Marco had brought a few DVDs and some computer games, but I didn't care for games, and you can only watch the same movies over and over so many times.

Marco and Jake hung out most of the time. They were best friends, so I guess they could talk about things. I wondered if they ever spoke about me behind my back. They probably did. I didn't care.

Santorelli and Jeanne mostly kept to themselves. It must have been terrible for them. They probably had families who would never know what happened to their children. But they volunteered. No one forced them to go.

Mendaresh was often out on the bridge, checking the sensors for any sign of the Blade ship. He seemed to only speak if someone asked him a question about the ship.

What could I say? He had lost his entire crew, and he had decided to permanently become a human and abandon his Andalite body. That's worse than what happened to me.

We all learned how to fly the _Rachel_. It was cool, learning how to navigate a spaceship. I morphed to human when it was my turn to learn. During our lessons, Mendaresh became a totally different person. Instead of being a quiet guy, he was like a crazy general or something.

I yearned for the open sky. The ship was too restrictive, and I had to flap my wings a lot to get around. The sky, the trees, the sun, the thermals. Replaced by a low ceiling and black space.

Most of the time, I was perched somewhere on the bridge. I spoke to Mendaresh sometimes. He was a lonely guy, and I kept him company.

I flew to the bridge. I had just eaten some food. It tasted worse than anything I'd ever had.

Mendaresh was sitting there, staring out the window. He seemed to be concentrating on something that was far away. I didn't disturb him.

Suddenly, he said, "Hello, Tobias."

Hey, I said. Are you okay? You seemed to be kind of zoned out there.

"I was downloading my _hirac dilest_ to the ship's computers."

Hirac dilest? What's that?

"It is one's final statement before they die."

I looked at him. Why was he making his final statement when he didn't know when he was going to die?

"You probably are wondering why I did this," Mendaresh said, as if he had read my mind. "For many days, I have sensed a dark void somewhere out there. It seems to be approaching us. I am not sure what it is, but I know when we contact it, the end will be near. I want my people to know what happened here." He paused. "And when the moment of death is near, I will send the end of my life's story. Hopefully, my people can learn much from my life, and my death."

Dark void? I had felt nothing. Maybe it was an Andalite thing.

Mendaresh was being way too pessimistic. But he said it with such conviction…

No offense, but I hope you're wrong. I don't want to die, I said. I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"What is my life worth?" Mendaresh asked. "My ship was destroyed. My captain, the great Prince Aximili, was captured. I am surely disgraced for that action alone." He stopped, and looked down at his hands. "And I am stuck in this body! Only two legs, two eyes, and no form of self-defense. If we save Prince Aximili, I may be forgiven. But I would be an outcast on my own world."

I understood where he came from. Even so, when I was first trapped as a hawk, my friends didn't think I was useless. I was a great asset to them, even though I could not morph.

Suddenly, a buzzing noise was made. Mendaresh picked something up. It looked like some kind of telephone.

"Yes? Of course, Captain," Mendaresh said. He put the phone thing down. "Tobias, Captain Jake would like to speak to you in his quarters."

Okay, I said, surprised. I hadn't spoken to Jake at all since we boarded the _Rachel_, and I tried to avoid him as much as possible. I still thought I hated him.

I flew around the ship a little until I found Jake's room. The door was already open. I soared in and landed on a chair.

Jake got up and closed the door. Marco was sitting on the bed, rubbing his eyes. Why was he here? Mendaresh had said Jake wanted to talk to me.

Jake returned and sat next to Marco. He looked at Marco. Marco nodded slightly. Jake sighed and began to speak.

"Could you morph to human, Tobias? I'd rather talk to you as your…" Jake's voice trailed off. "As your normal self."

This is my normal self, I said coldly. Probably a little too rudely. It didn't matter.

"Tobias, Jake wants you to morph to human. He would prefer to talk to you that way," Marco clarified.

I didn't respond, but I started morphing to human anyways. In a couple of minutes, I had changed from my red-tail hawk form to a human boy.

Actually, my body was more that of a human man. I would be nineteen right now, if I remembered correctly. I was wearing my spandex bike shorts and a skintight t-shirt. It itched.

"Tobias, Marco and I have been talking for a while," Jake began. "I know that you're probably still mad at me for sending Rachel with Tom. I just wanted you to know that I miss Rachel, too. You should know what I went through after the war. For a whole year after the end, I did nothing."

I sat up, curiosity seeping into my mind. I didn't really know what Jake had done after the war.

Why was I even interested? He killed Rachel. Was he going to say it wasn't his fault now? Still, I listened.

_Shut up_, a voice said.

_You already know what he did, Tobias_, another voice said. _He got Rachel killed. He tried to hide it from you! You shouldn't trust him._

_Give him a chance_, the first voice said. _He carried the burden of leadership for a long time, and he made mistakes. Maybe he's realized what he's done wrong_.

_He's an arrogant jerk_, the other voice said. _No one like him deserves a second chance_.

"I hung around at my parent's house, hoping somehow that Tom would come back," Jake started off. "Each afternoon, I would drive up to Rachel's memorial. Always after hours, because I didn't want to attract any attention. I would go to her memorial and sit there. I would remember the times when she saved our butts, I'd remember her saying 'Let's do it' as we were about to charge off to fight. I'd sit at that memorial for hours, looking out on the ocean, and remembering those memories. Remembered the good times, the bad times, all of them. I was waiting for you to come back, Tobias. I knew you hated me for what I did. I don't blame you. But I wanted to you to know that I was sorry, and I hope you accept that." Jake bit his lip, as though he was holding back tears.

_See?_ the first voice said. _He's sorry for what he did._

_It's all an act_, the second voice said. _You really think you're going to believe him?_

_Give him a chance_, the first voice said.

_He doesn't deserve it_, the second voice countered.

What was I supposed to believe? Was Jake truly sorry? Or was he just faking it so he would be back in my good graces? I didn't know.

I pictured the scene Jake told me about. I saw Jake sitting at the base of Rachel's memorial, twirling his keys around.

_See, he only went because of the nice view!_

I removed the keys from the scene in my imagination.

Jake was there, staring out over the ocean, looking at something that no longer existed. Occasionally, he glanced up at the sky, trying to spot a red-tail hawk. Never did he find it. After awhile, he got up and drove away.

_He was sorry for what he did to you, Tobias._

I nodded. I realized I was crying, something I did a lot as a human. I thought I came out of the war the worst. Jake went through a worse time. He had lost his brother, and his cousin.

Yeah, I thought, he did have it hard. It was tough for him.

It reminded me of what he had to do during the war. He was the leader, but he had no idea what he was doing. Jake didn't want to be the leader, but he was the grown-up, responsible one. We looked to him when he made those calls that could kill us, or keep us alive. I sometimes wondered how he did it. But he didn't have any special skill for leadership. He was just a kid, like all of us were. And after the war, he felt the effects of his decisions catch up to him.

Marco spoke. "Tobias, you have to realize that Rachel…she isn't coming back. Nothing will change that. But I hope you realize that we're here for you. Jake and I, we both care for you, man. Even if you don't want to accept it, we are your friends, and if you're lonely, we'll always be available. We never left anyone to die on the battlefield, and we won't let you be lonely."

_He's right, Tobias,_ the first voice said. _She's not coming back._

_There's always a chance Tobias. You have to keep the hope alive,_ the second voice answered.

_Shut up,_ I told both voices.

It was true. Jake and Marco were my friends, even if I didn't want to. When the five of us first met up at the mall, we were just a group of people that had accidentally hooked up. A few minutes later, we were the closest of friends, even if we didn't know it.

I wiped my eyes dry. "Yeah. Thanks, guys. I…I never really thought about how the war affected you guys. I just thought that I ended up worse than I was before, and you guys were all better off. I guess it was a little selfish on my part."

Marco got up. "Well, it's my turn to watch on the bridge. Later, guys." He patted me on the back as he walked out of the room.

Jake stood up and ran his hands through his hair. "I hope you understand, Tobias. I'm really-"

"I know, Jake. I forgave you a long time ago. It just took a long time for me to realize that."

"Well," Jake said kind of awkwardly. "I'm going to catch a little sleep."

"Me, too," I said. All of a sudden, I felt worn out. How could I have been worn out from that conversation?

Jake flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. I demorphed and perched on a rail.

I was asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.


	5. The End: Chapter 5

# Chapter 5

"No, Tobias! Go to the others. Save yourself!"

She was trapped! Surrounded by Hork-Bajir. She had been trapped right after she demorphed.

I flew down to the ground and started morphing to Andalite as fast as I could. She wouldn't die! She couldn't die.

"No, Tobias! Save yourself!" she cried out again.

I'm not going to lose you! I shouted back. The morph was almost finished. There was still a flicker of hope left.

"Go, Tobias! You can't save me!"

I was fully Andalite now. I charged ahead. I would save her!

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Four steel fences fell from the ceiling and formed a cage. I was trapped. I couldn't reach her!

I swung my tail at the metal bars. They didn't break.

Had to save her. Failing was not an option.

I demorphed and morphed to fly. I could fly through the little cracks and get out.

Hold on, Rachel! I'll get to you!

As soon as I was out of the cage, I demorphed. I would make it.

Hold on! I'll be right- I saw the blood on the floor. Not the green blood of the Hork-Bajir.

Red blood. Human blood.

I flew up into the sky and looked over the circle of Hork-Bajir. I looked down, and instantly wished I never had.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I yelled.

Rachel was lying on the floor. There was a slash mark made by a Hork-Bajir on her neck. Blood was flowing from the wound.

Rachel, I cried. Rachel!

No answer. Her eyes were open, staring right at me. Eyes that no longer held life.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I repeated again. I swept down and raked a Hork-Bajir in the eyes with my talons. It didn't matter.

I was too late. I had failed.

TSEEEEEEW!

A human-Controller was shooting at me with a Dracon beam. I flapped away, away from the Yeerks, away from Rachel.

I reached my friends, who were waiting outside. I landed next to them.

Jake, Rachel's dead, I told Jake. She was killed.

Jake nodded, as though he knew all this already. "Why do you think I chose Rachel to do the job?" he said calmly. "Only she would do it. She died as she would have wanted to-in battle."

What's wrong with you! I raged. Your cousin gets killed and you act like it's just another casualty of war. What's wrong with you!

"People die in war," Marco piped up. "Get over it."

_Jake doesn't care about you,_ someone said. _You're his warriors. He used you. When you die, he'll just replace you._

_Don't listen to him, Tobias!_ another voice chimed in. _It's all just a dream!_

_You know it's true, Tobias. Jake and Marco see Rachel as just another person who got killed. Another warrior who died a warrior's death._

_He's lying! Don't let him confuse you!_

_You know it's true, Tobias._

_No! You know the truth, Tobias. You know it!_

"Captain, to the bridge!"

I opened my eyes. My friends were gone. There was no factory in the distance.

It was a dream. Again.

I ruffled my feathers. My hawk body had broken out in a sweat. I was shivering.

It was another dream where I tried to save Rachel, but I wasn't in time. She died just before I could save her.

I had these dreams often. After the war, I woke up every night, just to realize I had a nightmare, and I was still perched on my tree's branch.

Eventually, the dreams became less frequent. They still occurred, though. Every nightmare, it was a different scenario. Rachel would be drowning, she'd be trapped at the Yeerk pool, she was trapped at her house.

Each time, I tried to save her. Each time, I was a little too late.

Jake had already left the room. Mendaresh must have left the speaker on, because I could hear Jake talking.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

"That was my question," Marco mumbled under his breath.

"Ship approaching in normal space, Captain," Menderash called out. "They've hailed us. Standard inquiry: our point of origin and destination."

This sounded like trouble. I flew out to the bridge, just behind Santorelli and Jeanne. They looked like they had been sleeping.

"Okay. Answer them," Jake commanded.

We gave the hailing ship our story. We were the _Enterprise_, a deep-space exploration ship from The United Federation of Planets. Jake and Marco thought it was a joke, but I thought it wasn't smart. If it was the Blade ship, the human hosts would undoubtedly know about _Star Trek_, and would ask us who we _actually_ were.

That would be a problem.

"Receiving response. And a request for visual, two-way communication," Menderash said.

Uh-oh, I said. I knew that our joke would get us into trouble. Stupid move on our part.

_What an idiot. To think anyone wouldn't know about _Star Trek_._

_So, he messed up once. Everyone screws up. So have you._

"What do we show them?" Santorelli inquired.

"Not me. If it's the Blade ship, they may recognize me. Or Marco and Tobias, for that matter," Jake replied. He paused, and looked around at everyone. "Santorelli, you're the best B.S. artist aside from Marco. So you're the captain. Jeanne, you stand with him. Everyone else out of view. Narrow the audio channel to pick up Santorelli only." He waited. "Okay, open communications."

The viewscreen came to life. The image of a human man came up. He was laughing.

I had a bad feeling about this. Yet, when I looked at him, I thought he laughed like Santa Claus.

What?! Concentrate, I told myself.

"So you come from the Federation, do you?" the man said. "And where is Captain Picard?"

Santorelli sent a panicked look at Jake. Jake had a worried, puzzled look on his face. He never was good at making up things.

_Look at Jake. He doesn't even know what to do. Some leader you follow, Tobias._

_Marco will cover him._

_Shut up!_ I told myself.

"You've always thought of yourself as more of a Captain Kirk," Marco whispered.

Leave it to Marco to come up with the wise response. Hopefully, the Yeerk wouldn't suspect anything.

_Told you so._

"I've always thought of myself as more of a Captain Kirk," Santorelli said cockily. Marco grinned. I wasn't sure whether he was amused or terrified. I was a little nervous right now. And terribly distracted.

"Sensor confirmation: It's the Blade ship," Mendaresh whispered.

Now I was a lot more nervous. And I was no longer distracted. I was completely focused now.

The Yeerk captain said, "That's quite a ship you have there…excuse me, I don't know your name."

Marco made a slashing motion before Santorelli screwed up. "You're Rakich-Four-Six-Nine-One of the Flet Niaar pool," Marco said.

Santorelli repeated it, word for word.

The Yeerk seemed satisfied by the response. "I am Efflit-One-Three-One-Eight of the Sulp Niar pool. Well met. And what exactly are you doing here, brother? And how do you come to be flying a new cruiser-class ship?"

"I might ask the same of you," Santorelli retorted. "I find it hard to imagine what business a ship of the Yeerk Empire has in this far-flung quadrant."

"He's powering up his weapons and maneuvering to bring them to bear," Mendaresh said softly.

"He thinks we're from the Yeerk Empire," Jake replied. "Maybe to hunt him down as a traitor."

"My mission here is classified," the Yeerk captain said in a lower voice.

"As is mine," Santorelli shot back.

Something wasn't right here. The Yeerk was way too calm. He should have been ecstatic to meet his brother Yeerks. He had been alone for three years, outcasts in the galaxy. And yet, he seemed indifferent to the fact that we _were_ Yeerks.

The Blade ship and the _Rachel_ maneuvered for what seemed like eternity. Each ship was trying to get a better position to shoot. But we were getting closer. We had passed the moment of escape.

It had all come down to this showdown. 

My heart was pounding away.

Jake said, "We have to blink first." He told Santorelli what to tell the Yeerk.

"It occurs to me, Efflit-One-Three-One-Eight, that it would be a tragedy is any misunderstanding occurred here between us," Santorelli said.

"Indeed? And what misunderstanding could occur, Rakich-Four-Six-Nine-One?" the Yeerk asked coolly.

This wasn't right. The guy was too under control. As if he knew what was actually going on.

"There is no empire, Efflit-One-Three-One-Eight," Santorelli said with a sigh. He acted as though he were telling a depressing story. "The empire is finished. I…my crew and I seized this ships as the Andalites closed in. We had heard that a Blade ship escaped and survived. We have been looking for you ever since. For more than three years."

Efflit nodded, as though he knew all this. I could tell that he didn't believe a single word of our story.

Guys, maybe- I began to say.

"You will place yourself under the command of The One?" Efflit asked abruptly.

"The who?" Santorelli blurted.

Marco looked around at all of us. Everyone shrugged. Marco was scared stiff. His face was paler than usual.

Efflit went on. "I command this ship, but I serve at the pleasure of The One Who Is Many. The One Who Is _All_. We are not alone, Rakich-Four-Six-Nine-One. We are not _this_ ship alone. We are the seeds of a new empire that will far outshine the old, under the leadership of The One." The human that the Yeerk controlled had the look of a wild, crazy man. One who was drunk with power.

"Um, who is this…this One?" Santorelli asked.

"I will invoke his presence," the Yeerk responded. He closed his eyes and raised his face.

"Okay, this is unexpected," Marco said.

I half expected Marco to make some crack about the guy praying. But I guess he was too nervous to make jokes. My hawk body was agitated. It took a lot of control to keep the hawk mind from flying away.

The screen went blank. All of a sudden, the image of the human-Controller disappeared.

What the --- I demanded.

Then the screen came alive. The whole bridge was bathed in this glowing, searing light coming from the screen. It was as if the bridge was translucent and a really bright light had been turned on outside the ship.

Everything was lit up. Then the light started to become dimmer, and the outline of an alien face appeared.

Something was wrong with this alien. The face kept shifting, from a robotic face, to an elfish outline, and finally into the image of my _shorm_, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Except he had a mouth, and in his mouth were many red-rimmed teeth.

This couldn't possibly be Ax, and yet, it was his face.

What was happening?

Ax? I whispered disbelievingly.

The One spoke. "Save your tricks for this Yeerk fool. I see the truth. I see all. Step into view, Jake the Yeerk-Killer. I know you are there, I feel your mind."

The voice told you that this alien wasn't guessing that Jake was there. It _knew_ Jake was there. It probably knew that Marco and I were here also.

Jake stepped in front of the screen.

"I'm here," Jake said.

"You have done well to come this far. You have come to find your friend. But the Andalite is part of me now. As you will soon be," it said.

Jake stared back at the shifting faces of the alien. I could feel the evil, the corruption, the malevolence of The One in every one of those faces. It couldn't possibly be just confined to just the Blade ship. Was this Crayak? Or one of Crayak's minions?

I didn't know. The evilness of The One was making my thoughts a jumbled mess.

"Can we shoot?" Jake asked Mendaresh. He knew there was no point in concealing his words.

"His Dracon cannon has longer range and greater power. And his defensive fields have been enhanced. I doubt our cannon can penetrate them," Mendaresh answered vaguely. I knew what he was doing.

He was completing his _hirac dilest_, his last statement.

He knew we were going to die.

"Thought so. But we're faster," Jake said calmly.

"Yes."

"Okay." Jake took a deep breath, and I could tell he had just made his decision. He looked at all of us, with a sort of sad grin. "What was it, Marco? 'Crazy, reckless, ruthless decisions'?"

Marco nodded, wishing he could take back those words.

Jake smiled a weirdly familiar smile.

A smile I had seen a million times before.

Rachel's smile.

"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake ordered. "Ram the Blade ship."


	6. The End: Chapter 6

# Chapter 6

It seemed as though time had stopped.

This was it. This was the end.

The _Rachel_ raced forward, right towards the bridge of the Blade ship.

"Full reverse thrust!" I heard someone scream. It must have been the Yeerk captain, realizing what was happening.

It was a hopeless act of desperation. The _Rachel_ plowed straight into the Blade ship's bridge. The impact disintegrated the bridges of both ships, and suddenly, we were out, floating in space.

It was freezing. I tried to flap my wings, but they wouldn't spread open. We were dead. I was going to die.

I looked at Santorelli and Jeanne. They were going to die out here, billions of miles away from home, and their families would never know what happened to them.

Jake was floating a little off to my left. His eyes were closed. He must have been praying.

Not that it would help us.

Marco, too, was praying. He was shivering. It wouldn't be much longer until we either suffocated or froze to death.

I saw Mendaresh, flailing his human arms. He was shouting something.

"I am the servant of the People," he said, gasping for air. "I am the servant of my prince."

I recognized what he was saying. It was the Andalite death ritual.

"I am the servant…of honor," Mendaresh continued, his voice becoming weaker as his air was used up. "My life is…not my own, when the People…have need of it. My life…is given…" His eyes closed.

Mendaresh! I cried.

He opened his eyes. "My life…is…given…for the People…" He inhaled deeply, trying to get the oxygen he needed. The oxygen that didn't exist out here in the vacuum of space.

"…for my prince…" Mendaresh inhaled deeply.

I wanted to hear the completed death ritual. It gave me comfort that, in death, I knew my death was not in vain. That I had not died for no reason.

You can do it, I told Mendaresh. You can do it.

"…and…for…my…HONOR!" Mendaresh said the last word with his last breath of air. He exhaled, and his eyes closed. His skin had begun to turn a pale blue.

My brain started shutting down. The hawk in me tried to fly away, but it was pointless. I couldn't…breathe…needed to…get…air…

"Someone should…have told me…space was cold," Marco wheezed. "I would have…brought a…coat."

My vision…going…gray…

Suddenly, I was standing up.

Standing up? I looked at my body. It was my human self.

I looked around. Jake and Marco were there, human as well. There skin was their normal color, not the bluish color of a suffocating person. 

"Hey, I'm still alive!" Marco said. "I knew God loved me."

"The Ellimist," I said. "He stopped time and brought us here."

Jake nodded. He knew, as much as I did, that we were dying. Nobody was going help us. The Ellimist could, but it would break the rules of his war with Crayak.

Marco groaned. "Great. What does he want with us?" 

The Ellimist appeared. He presented himself as an old, weak man. He looked like one of those wizened wizards from a child's book.

Despite his appearance, we knew the Ellimist was nearly omnipotent. He could reverse time, stop time, maybe even move time forward. There were probably many other things he could do that we didn't know about.

"What do you want, Ellimist?" I demanded. "What game do you want to play now?"

The Ellimist put his arms up. "I wanted to tell you what you have accomplished. By colliding with the Blade ship, you have just halted the beginning of an evil empire that would have encompassed the galaxy. Your sacrifice has spared the galaxy from life under harsh rule," the Ellimist said.

"Why should we believe you?" I accused. "A long time ago, you told us we would lose the battle on Earth. We won. You were wrong."

"I never said that, Tobias," the Ellimist responded gently. "I simply showed you a future that might have been plausible is you lost on Earth. I did not suggest that you were going to lose the war."

"Of course not," I said sarcastically under my breath.

The Ellimist can never be wrong. He just tells us plausible possibilities.

What a joker.

"Ellimist, can you answer a question?" Marco.

"Yes."

"Is there an afterlife? I just want to know if everything they taught us in Sunday school is true," Marco asked.

Jake wasn't amused. "Marco, this really is not the time-"

"I do not know," the Ellimist answered. "I have never died, so I would not know."

We were all silent. None of us pleaded to the Ellimist to save us. We knew he would do nothing. We were helpless.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. The light faded, and then I was seeing pictures of my life. Memories that I had stored in my mind. Some of them I remembered, some I never even knew I had. It was someone had slipped a video of my life into a VCR.

FLASH! "Tobias, clean up your room!" my aunt shouted.

FLASH! "Any money you make goes towards paying the bills." My uncle.

FLASH! "Ahhhhhh, poor Tobias," mocked some unnamed bully.

Why were all the painful memories showing up? I didn't want to see these memories in my final moments. I wanted to remember the happy times.

FLASH! Go to your friends, Tobias. They are your family now. Elfangor's last words to me.

FLASH! This is so cool! Ahhhhhhhhh! Going flying with my friends for the first time.

FLASH! "I know who you are, Tobias." Rachel. Sweet Rachel.

FLASH! "Until then, we fight." Jake, finding out I was trapped as a hawk.

Instantly, I was back in reality. Suspended in space, next to Jake and Marco.

Jake broke the silence. He said softly, "Ellimist, can I ask you to do something?"

The Ellimist said, "As long as it does not break the rules, you may."

"Can you tell Cassie what happened here? Can you tell her that we're…you know, dead?"

The Ellimist looked thoughtful, and said, "Yes. I can do that for you."

"Okay. Thanks," Jake said.

I was about to ask-


	7. The End: Chapter 7

# \Chapter 7-Rachel

My name is Rachel.

And I am dead.

It's been three years since I was alive. Something like that. It's hard to keep track of the time.

Jake had sent me with Tom on the Blade ship. If he ordered me to, I was supposed to kill Tom. We couldn't let him get away.

He knew only I would do that. The others were all needed. Besides, only I would do something that crazy. Tobias wouldn't let me, and Cassie wouldn't have let Jake make the order.

We hid the decision from them, Jake and I did. I guess the others eventually found out where I was.

When Tom was about to destroy the Pool ship, Jake gave the order, and I followed his commands. I morphed to grizzly bear and killed Tom. But the other Yeerks were able to morph, and they had damaged my bear morph greatly. I had to demorph.

I was helpless, surrounded by various Yeerks in morph. There was no way out, no lucky break. I knew it.

My last image of life was looking at the Blade ship's viewscreen. All of my friends, my fellow warriors, were in view. It was one of the sweetest and saddest images of my life, something I would never forget.

Cassie was there, in her wolf morph. My best friend. She couldn't dress, but that girl can see things no one else could.

She had let the Yeerks take the morphing cube. Jake saw it as a betrayal, but Cassie had seen what allowing the Yeerks to possess the technology might do.

By acquiring the morphing power, the Yeerks no longer needed to be parasites. They could permanently morph into another form. They would no longer need the Kandrona rays every three days. Their days of making war to gain host bodies would be over.

Cassie had seen this, and so had some of the Yeerks. The Taxxons, too, wanted to acquire the technology. They would no longer be prison to their terrible hunger. A revolt had been growing within the Yeerks.

Tom had the morphing cube. That's why we couldn't let him get away.

I saw Jake, our leader. He was in his tiger morph, and he was looking at me with his huge, black tiger eyes.

I felt sad for Jake. For so many years, and so many battles, Jake had made those decisions that might get us all killed. Despite our many battles, he had managed to keep us all alive.

I was about to end his streak.

I saw Marco, in his gorilla morph. Even though the boy told the worst jokes I had ever heard, he was the one who kept us from becoming complete zombies. His jokes would always make us laugh, even when we were completely down. I would miss him.

Ax, our Andalite ally, was looking at me with his main eyes, while his stalk eyes glanced around. He was a warrior, and he would know why Jake sent me. To win the war, you have to do some things that you don't want to do. I'm sure Ax understood that.

Last, I saw Tobias. Poor Tobias.

He was in human morph, and he was crying. He knew that I was going to die, and he could do nothing to delay that. It was heartbreaking.

Before the war, Tobias had been a loner. He was tossed between uncaring relatives, and the bullies always picked on him at school. When he was trapped as a hawk, he became more lonely. A human stuck as a hawk.

I cared for him. He had never been wanted, and I gave him that feeling. We were good friends, I guess you could say, you know?

Now, he would be alone again. I hoped he would find happiness someday. I hoped he didn't get mad at Jake for his decision.

"I love you," I had said to Tobias. Of course, I had only been speaking to a screen. I glanced out at the Pool ship, so close to me, and yet, it could have been a million miles away.

You fight well, the Yeerk in polar bear morph had said.

Then, with one swipe of his paw, he ended my life.

In my dying moments, the Ellimist came to me. I was angry at him. He had used us many times, had played so many games with us. I wanted to know why he did it.

He told me. I saw the story of his life. I understood what he was all about. In a way, the Ellimist was like us. Trapped in a war he didn't want to be in. An ordinary person who had become powerful by accident.

Then I died.

Every living thing is a strand of space-time. When someone dies, their strand darkens and coils into nothingness. Just as the strand is nearly gone, their essence is released. Like a genie from a lamp.

Your essence is basically a copy of your mind. You can still remember everything from your life. You can think. In a sense, you are still alive.

But you have no body, no physical appearance. You can't talk to the living. You can't interfere with the events that happen. You observe life, like one watches a football game.

My essence rose from my strand of space-time, and I was in the Blade ship, above my lifeless body. I figured out how to go to different places. By simply thinking a person's name, or a location, I would immediately travel to wherever I wanted.

I went to the bridge of the Pool ship. There were all my friends, completely silent. Visser One was there as well. He seemed like a guy who just lost a war. I guess he had.

The Yeerks surrendered. The Andalites came aboard, and there was a little bit of a showdown. We won.

I saw the huge media crowd that gathered as the surviving Animorphs and Ax told the story we had kept secret for so long. It would have been cool to be down there, talking to a thousand flashing bulbs. I'd be on the cover of every newspaper, I'd be the top story on TV.

If I were alive.

I also went to my funeral.

My body had been found by the Andalites, and my mom had it cremated. Now I was just a few ashes in a nice-looking jar. I was cool with that. What would be the point of burying yourself in the ground?

My memorial was in a cemetery, with a nice view of the Pacific Ocean. I would have thanked my mom for choosing such a nice spot.

Tons of people were there. Most of them I had never seen before. Hundreds of TV cameras were set up in the back. Everyone was watching my funeral.

There were free Hork-Bajir standing at attention. A troop of Andalite warriors were on guard. Our ally General Doubleday was there, as well as what seemed like many generals. The President of the United States was there.

It was cool, having all these powerful people show up at my memorial service. But they were coming to say goodbye to someone they never knew. I wished that it hadn't been so public.

Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Ax, in human morph, were there. All of them were crying. I never had seen Ax cry before. It was sad.

They all made little speeches. I had never heard Marco say so many nice things about me. He cheered up the gathering a little. He even made me laugh. "I bet she's watching over us, laughing at us right now," he said.

He had never said anything so right in his life.

The President made a speech, too. I didn't really listen to what he was saying. He was talking about someone that he never knew. How can you say nice things about someone you don't know?

Near the end of the service, I saw Tobias fly high overhead. He rocketed down and gripped my urn of ashes. One of the ushers moved to scare him off, but Jake stopped the guy.

Tobias looked at my mother, who was sobbing. She nodded, giving her approval. Then he looked at Cassie.

"Yes, Tobias," she whispered through her tears. "She would want it."

With that, he lifted the jar that contained me and flew off into the sky.

I would have yelled at Tobias for being so foolish. He should have realized that Jake made the right decision. But he would only accept that if he heard me say it.

And I was dead.

Just as the funeral ended and everyone was leaving, I heard a new thought-speak voice that I didn't recognize.

Hello, Rachel.

Who is this? I asked angrily. I was in no mood to talk with wandering essences.

Perhaps it has been too long since that night in the construction site, the voice said. I am Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.

Prince Elfangor? I questioned. Yeah, it has been a while.

Elfangor had given us the morphing power. He had changed our lives forever, and he had probably saved the human race from life as Yeerk slaves.

I am pleased that you and your friends won the war against the Yeerks. You have spared the freedom of humans, as well as the lives of many Andalites. Elfangor said gravely. I am proud of all of you. Five human children and my younger brother saved stopped the greatest threat to freedom in the entire galaxy. Amazing.

Yeah, I said. We did it. We got lucky.

No, you deserved to win, Elfangor persisted. The Yeerks underestimated the danger, the threat, you posed to their empire. They did not think a few guerillas could defeat them.

We showed them who's boss, I said jokingly.

I am sad that you died, the Andalite said.

Me, too, I replied.

I know that you loved Tobias, Rachel. When you died, a large part of his soul died with him as well. You were the only one Tobias had. Now, he is alone again.

I felt a stab of pain. But he's still alive. He still has his whole life to live out.

You know as well as I do, Rachel. You were the one person there for Tobias. He could lean on you for support and comfort. He loved you. And now he is alone again. Elfangor paused. I could sense he was uncomfortable. During the time I have been dead, I have often wondered whether I could have stayed as a human. Whether I should have tried to defy the Ellimist. I saw how lonely Tobias was, and I wanted to be there for him. Yet, the Ellimist would not allow.

Yeah, you can't do much when the Ellimist does something.

I only can hope that he will find happiness one day. It is terrible to be alone.

Me, too, I said. I really hoped Tobias wouldn't spend the rest of his life trying to figure out how he could have saved me.

So. How have you been, Elfangor? I asked.


	8. The End: Chapter 8

# Chapter 8-Cassie

"Come on, Cass! Not much further!" a male voice called out. "It's a beautiful scene from up here!"

I was out hiking in Yellowstone National Park. Although I was only twenty, I worked as the President's Special Assistant for Resident Aliens.

Hiking was something I had taken up a while back. While I easily could have morphed to a bird and flown up here, what would be the point? This way, I got my exercise. It was also much harder.

"Yes, it is beautiful," I said to Ronnie Chambers, as I reached the top of the hill. I opened my canteen and gulped down some water. Sweat was pouring down my face, but I didn't care.

I took in the scenery. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in sight. A perfect day.

The hill we were on was higher than everything else around. Down to my left, I saw a herd of deer grazing. Off to the right, I saw Hork-Bajir swinging from tree to tree. Straight ahead was a waterfall.

What a beautiful place.

It was a good thing we had won the war against the Yeerks. If they had won, God knows what they might have done to the natural beauty of Earth.

We knew the Yeerks, after conquering a planet, had stripped it of everything unnecessary. Trees, animal life, anything in the way, was removed. Exterminated. In place of them would be giant Yeerk pools. Manmade holes in the ground filled with foul water.

No longer did we have to worry about that desolate future. My friends and I had stopped the Yeerk threat. Earth would remain the same, as it always had been.

"Tired?" Ronnie asked playfully. He was used to hiking, so he wasn't as worn out as I was.

"Of course not," I replied. I pulled out some binoculars, and looked around at everything.

Ronnie came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "It's all because of you, sweetie. You saved this place, and everything else on Earth," he whispered into my ear.

"Oh, be quiet," I retorted. He poured compliments on me often, making it sound as though I had saved the world all by myself.

Ronnie worked for the governor of California. He was the liaison to the Hork-Bajir colony.

He was also my fiancé.

Yeah, he was six years older than me. But I didn't mind. He could have been any age, and I wouldn't notice the difference.

I'm glad Jake wasn't around when we got engaged. We were already on awkward terms. During the war, we liked each other. But somewhere along the line, we were torn apart. I don't know why. Jake had suddenly become this darker person, a person I had never known before.

Sometimes I wondered what might have happened with me and Jake. It intrigued me, the road never taken. But it was the past. I couldn't change what had already happened. And frankly, I didn't mind all that much.

Ronnie had been a wonderfully stabilizing presence. He helped me become the average, normal person I wanted to be. I would always be Cassie the Animorph, one of the six that had saved the planet. Life went on, though. The attention was not something I enjoyed. Marco was better suited for that. I enjoyed the anonymity, the feeling of being normal.

Normal. Ever since we met the dying Andalite in the construction site, normalcy evaded us. Our lives had become weird, crazy, you name it. Anything but normal. But after the war, we had to go back to our lives, and be as normal as possible.

I was normal. I was happy. I was getting married.

And yet, I felt lonely. Even though I had many friends in the government, there was always that creeping feeling of loneliness. It was unsettling.

A long time ago, Jake had come to me while I was hiking with Ronnie. We had only been dating back then. Jake told me about Ax, and about how he was going to rescue him.

I didn't stop him. When the war ended, Jake became a completely different person. I realized that he couldn't live without the war.

Long ago, we had worried about what Rachel would do when the war ended. She thrived on the violence, the bloodletting, the sounds of battle. But she had died. No one would find out.

I knew Jake needed to go. He knew it as well. It was a way for him to drag himself out of his personal problems. And when he left, I was sure, beyond any doubt, that Jake would not be coming back.

As I scanned the horizon, I tried to remember what the Animorphs looked like. Tobias was easy to remember, a powerful gaze forever painted on his hawk face.

I jerked the binoculars away from my face. None of the other's faces were coming to my mind.

How could I forget them? I had fought alongside them for three years, and I couldn't remember what they looked like!

"Something the matter, Cass?" Ronnie asked. I didn't answer.

Rachel…how could I forget Rachel? My best friend, even her face I did not recall.

Not for the first time, I wondered whether it was right of me to be as happy as I was. I felt guilty sometimes. Jake and Tobias, they weren't happy. They wished they could go back to the war and change some of the things they had done.

"Nothing's wrong," I told Ronnie. I'd thought about this many times before. What had happened, happened, and I couldn't change it.

I put my binoculars up and looked at the Hork-Bajir. Two of them were playfully swinging from tree to tree-

I pulled the binoculars away from my eyes. The Hork-Bajir were frozen in midair. A bird was flying in the air, but it wasn't moving. It was like someone had paused a movie.

Everything had stopped. I groaned. The Ellimist had done this, for some reason. Why would he show up? Since the end of the war, none of us had heard from him.

"Hello, Cassie."

I spun around. Standing a few feet away was the Ellimist. He looked…different. He was an odd-looking human. He looked almost like Ax when he was in human morph.

Fear started creeping up my spine. I had never seen this disguise before. Most of the time, he appeared as a simple old man. Something bad had happened.

"In case you are wondering, Cassie, this appearance is a combination of the five Animorphs," the Ellimist said. "I have come here today to bring you news of Jake, Marco, Tobias, and the Andalite, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill."

"Huh?" I had forgotten completely about Jake and the others. "What happened to them? Are they okay?" I demanded

"Jake, Marco, and Tobias came upon the Blade ship. Aximili had been assimilated into an evil creature known as 'The One'. That creature was on board the Blade ship. Your friends drove their ship into the Blade ship, destroying both ships in the collision."

My throat was dry. It couldn't have been. No.

Tears started welling up in my eyes as the Ellimist continued.

"Jake, Marco, and Tobias all died in space. Aximili's soul was freed, but he died as well," the Ellimist finished. "Jake asked me to come and tell you this."

Tears were streaming down my face. It was such a sad moment, and at that instant, I felt more alone than I had ever been.

Jake, our fearless leader, who led us into countless battles.

Marco, who cracked jokes to keep our spirits up.

Tobias, trapped in his hawk body, never quite the same person.

Ax, our resident alien.

Gone.

All gone.

I looked up at the Ellimist. Slowly, he melded from the combination of the five Animorphs into me. I was staring at a copy of myself.

"Only you remain, Cassie," the Ellimist said. "Carry on the memory of the Animorphs. Remember them. Honor them. Save them."

I barely heard anything he said. It was an overwhelming feeling of sadness. Never had so many people close to me died.

"Hey Cass, what's wrong?" Ronnie asked. I looked up. The Ellimist was gone. Time had resumed.

"Jake, Marco, Tobias, Ax…they're all dead. Gone," I said through my tears.

"I'm really sorry, Cass…I really am," Ronnie said somberly. He sat next to me and put his arm around me. "That means that-"

I looked at him. "Yes, Ronnie. I am the last of the Animorphs."


	9. The End: Chapter 9

# Chapter 9-Rachel

The next few years, I didn't do much. There wasn't much I _could_ do. I was dead, and there's only so many things I could do.

I talked with Elfangor a lot. When we had first met, there hadn't been any time to talk. He was dying, and the Yeerks were coming to kill him. Now, we spoke every day.

His life's story was amazing. He told me about his days as a young _aristh_. The first time he encountered humans. How he had defied War-Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. The mission on the Taxxon home world.

It was amazing, the things we never knew. Elfangor had actually been responsible for getting Alloran infested. He had done so many things that should have disgraced him a million times over. Yet, he still became a huge hero to the Andalite people. His story had never been revealed to them.

I dearly wished I could talk with others. It was interesting talking to Elfangor, but having only one person to talk to can get boring.

Sometimes, I talked to myself. It was all I could do to avoid being swallowed up by the loneliness, the boredom. If I didn't talk, I would forget who I was. What I was. I would become a wandering essence, moving around space aimlessly.

My mom and my sisters were doing fine. Jordan was in high school, and she looked almost like I did, except she was a little shorter. She had become an excellent gymnast, like I had always wanted to be. I had been too tall, anyways. Sarah was in junior high school.

I wanted so much to be there with them, with my family. Yeah, I was _with_ them, but I wasn't able to see my sisters off to school, to roll my eyes as my mom talked about her cases.

Jake suffered. For a year after the war, he would do nothing except hang around his house and go to my memorial. I was mad at him.

Before he sent me with Tom, I told Jake not to blame himself if I died. I didn't want him to spend his time thinking if he could have done it any other way.

Eventually, he pulled out of his funk. He taught at some military base in the middle of nowhere. Still, he didn't seem the same. The Jake I had known had disappeared, replaced by a tired, old copy of himself.

Marco seemed to be doing pretty well. He lived in this huge mansion. I didn't know exactly what he did, but I knew he was an actor of some kind. He even had a girlfriend. I would have laughed. How had any girl thought that he was remotely cute?

Cassie was an assistant to the President in alien affairs, or something like that. She spent most of her time at Yellowstone, keeping track of the Hork-Bajir. At night, she took veterinary courses at a college.

Although Marco and I were never close, I was happy for him, as well as Cassie. They had been able to move on past the war, to become what they wanted to. Yeah, they'd always be famous, part of the Animorphs. But they were living their life the way they wanted. For the most part, their lives had become normal.

Tobias didn't do much of anything. He had a nice area in Yellowstone where he lived. No one visited him, except for Cassie. He probably swore her to secrecy, because none of the others visited him.

I would have yelled at him. He wasn't happy, and he probably spent his time wondering how he could have saved me. Tobias should have faced the reality he didn't want to accept. No matter how much he thought about me, I was dead, and he should move on.

Ax was a big hero with the Andalites. No longer was he Elfangor's little brother, he was Aximili, the legend. Whenever Elfangor spoke about Ax, his voice swelled with pride. Brotherly love, I guess. I didn't have any brothers.

I saw Ax get captured by the Blade ship. Elfangor was very upset by Ax's actions. He never should have gone with the boarding crew! Usually the captain sends his first officer or tactical officer with the boarding crew. His inexperience nearly got his ship destroyed.

Jake, Marco, and Tobias stole some Yeerk ship and went to go rescue Ax. They searched for what seemed like forever for the Blade ship. Eventually, the Blade ship found them. Elfangor and I watched as the Blade ship and my friend's ship circled each other for a long time.

Elfangor, what would you do now? I asked the prince.

I don't know…undoubtedly, the Blade ship's defenses have been upgraded since the end of the war. It can destroy an Andalite Dome ship, so it can surely destroy this ship. He paused. I am not sure. It's an interesting situation. I guess we will have to watch and see how this plays out.

Suddenly, the ship my friends were on headed straight for the Blade ship. The Blade ship tried to retreat, but the other ship was faster. The two ships collided and broke apart.

NOOOOOOOOOO! I yelled to no one in particular.

I saw my friends float helplessly in space. It was horrible, watching them suffocate. Then, I saw them talk to the Ellimist.

How can we see them? I asked Elfangor. If the Ellimist stops time, we shouldn't notice it, should we?

I believe we can see when the Ellimist stops time because we are no longer part of the space-time continuum, Elfangor answered. Therefore, when the Ellimist stops time, it does not affect us, or any of the essences of the dead.

When they were dead, I saw their strands of space-time coil up, and their essences were released from them. I heard new voices. The voices of my friends, except now they had joined me in death.

Whoa, Marco said. Are we dead?

Look! We can see our own bodies! Jake exclaimed.

Yeah, I guess we are dead, Tobias said grimly.

Hey guys! It's me, Rachel! I shouted to them.

Rachel's talking to us! Tobias said excitedly. His mood picked up instantly. Hey Rachel! What's up?

Hey Tobias, I said. If I were human, I would have hugged him. Unfortunately, nobody has bodies when they're dead. I missed you so much. Why did you run away from the others? I said, a little angrily.

I don't know… Tobias' thought-speak trailed off. I guess I thought I was alone, and no one out there cared for me.

But you know that Jake, Marco, and Cassie care for you!

I know…me, Jake, and Marco had a talk on the ship. He sighed. I know I made mistakes, Rachel. We cleared up our differences. Everything's okay between us.

Tobias! Elfangor cried out. Tobias…this is Elfangor. I wanted you to know that I care deeply for you, every day as an Andalite, I prayed for you and your mother. I'm sorry I couldn't be there. The Ellimist…he removed me from my place on Earth. I would have stayed if I could.

Elfangor…Father, Tobias said, I…I know. I found out from a Controller that you were my father. He laughed ironically. I have a question. When you landed that night in the construction site, did you know that…that I was your son?

Yes, I knew, Elfangor replied, his voice low. I did not tell you then, because I did not think you were ready to deal with that fact. I hope you understand.

Yeah. It's okay, Tobias said.

What happened to my brother, Aximili? Elfangor asked. Wasn't he on the Blade ship?

He had been made a slave, Jake replied gravely. A slave of The One.

Slave? The One? Was it a Yeerk? Elfangor questioned, concern and hatred in his voice. Even though the Yeerks were no longer a threat, he still hated them with a vengeance.

The One was some kind of evil alien, Tobias said. I'm don't know much about it.

Where is Aximili now? Elfangor demanded.

I have joined you, Elfangor, a new voice answered.

Ax! Jake called out.

Yes, it is I, Prince Jake, Ax said. I was assimilated into The One. It is even worse than being controlled by a Yeerk. I saw his evil plans, and I saw all the other aliens he had assimilated over the years. I never hoped to be free. But in death, you have liberated my soul. Again, Prince Jake, I am grateful to you.

No problem, Ax, Marco piped. We just had to commit suicide doing that.

It's only been a few minutes, and I'm already tired of Marco's humor, I complained.

Well, I'm gonna be here for a while, so deal with it, Xena, Marco replied, giving my old nickname back to me.

Why don't we go see Cassie? I suggested.

How do we do that? Tobias wondered. It's not like we can exactly travel straight back to Earth. We're out in the middle of nowhere.

Simply think Cassie's name, Elfangor said. You will immediately be taken to wherever she is currently located.

Ah. Okay.

Suddenly I was with Cassie. She was on the top of a hill somewhere. She appeared to be crying. Some man was comforting her.

She's at Yellowstone right now, Tobias declared. I lived near this area before we left to find Ax.

I noticed the diamond ring on Cassie's finger. Jake! Cassie's engaged to that guy! How'd that happen? I inquired.

Jake sighed. He had always been uncomfortable describing his feelings. I don't know…he's some guy who works for the governor of California. A pretty good guy, actually. I didn't know they were engaged. It must have happened while we were searching for Ax. He fell silent. I don't think he wanted to talk about it.

The man said something to Cassie. She looked at him, and said, "Yes, Ronnie. I am the last of the Animorphs."

She must have just found out we died, Tobias said soberly.

But how would she find out? You didn't talk to her after you left, did you? I asked.

I told the Ellimist to tell her, Jake whispered. I barely heard him. I figured she should know what happened to us instead of wondering for the rest of her life.

We all just watched as Cassie and this Ronnie guy walked down the hill. There's nothing we could really do.

Well, Marco began. I guess we have some time to spend. Anyone up for a game of Twenty Questions?


	10. The End: Chapter 10

# Chapter 10-Cassie

I took a leave of absence from work. The President was very understanding, and told me to take as much time as I needed. I didn't feel like doing anything.

I also told Ronnie to leave me alone for few days. He was fine with that. It's just I didn't feel like being pampered. I wanted to be by myself.

It was depressing. When you hear that four of your closest friends have died, it just hit you hard. I took it harder. Jake, Marco, Tobias, and Ax had been fellow warriors during the war against the Yeerks.

They were gone. I didn't remember what they looked like. Now I would never see any of them again.

I went back to my parent's house. They still lived at the same house. I told them about what had happened to Jake and the others. They grieved mostly for Jake, because they knew him the best.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic was still running. I helped out my parents with the sick animals. Even though I was a qualified veterinarian, I didn't have the time to help out animals. Work kept me busy. It felt like old times.

But it wasn't right. I stood in the barn, all by myself. I was lonely, and it didn't feel right. Something was missing.

Marco should have been on a bale of hay, lazily putting his feet in the air. Jake should have been pacing around, looking down at the ground in intense concentration. Rachel should have been sitting on the hay, listening intently. Tobias should have been in the rafters, looking out for any sign of the Yeerks. Ax should have been standing near the entrance, on guard.

During the war, we often met at the barn. It was here we planned our insane missions, while I tended to sick animals.

I felt a pang of loneliness. Who were my real friends? Sure, I had friends in Washington, and I had Ronnie, but were they my true friends? No. The Animorphs were.

I had to go break the news to Jake and Marco's parents. It wouldn't be right not telling them, however painful it might be. They deserved to know what happened. I would tell them.

I visited Jake's parents first. His parents had moved to a house in Santa Barbara, where Jake had bought them a nice house that overlooked the ocean. I drove there and delivered the bad news.

Jake's mom was hysterical. I could understand why she would feel bad. She had lost one of her sons in battle, and now her other child was dead as well. Jake's dad looked devastated. Both of his sons had died.

It took some time for them to accept the reality. How could Jake die? they asked. He was the Jake, leader of the Animorphs, he had survived the war despite the odds. There was no way he could be dead, they said.

Eventually, they realized the reality that Jake was dead. From denial, to disbelief, and finally, acceptance. It was horrible.

I next went to Marco's parents. They lived in the home Marco and his dad had lived in before they faked their death. His parents came to grips with what happened more easily.

Marco's mom had been the former Visser One, the original leader of the Yeerk invasion. She cried some, but did not try and disprove what I had said. Marco's father just stood there in a stony silence.

When I drove away, I told myself I would never do that again. Telling people that their children were dead was horrible. The future of their family, the bright light of their life, had vanished. It was cruel.

I went back to my parent's house and took a walk. I needed my exercise, and I just wanted to get away from the terrible experience I had just endured.

Our town had been decimated by the Yeerks as we had been making our final battle plans. Most of it had been reconstructed, but you could still see the damage that had been done. The mall, which had been destroyed when we blew up the Yeerk pool, was just a charred steel skeleton. A new mall had been built a mile away, in the rebuilt part of town. Next to it, the abandoned construction site was scorched, blackened long ago by the Dracon beams of Bug fighters.

I walked through the abandoned construction site. Six years ago, on a perfectly normal night, me, along with four high school kids, did the same thing. It changed history in a way we never could have imagined.

FLASH!  
"Look, it's a flying saucer!" I exclaimed to my friends. I pointed to the sky. An alien ship was heading right for us!

FLASH!

I continued wandering around the construction site. The wall that we had hid behind when we watched the former Visser Three kill Elfangor was still standing. I touched one of the Dracon scars.

FLASH! Noooooooooo! Elfangor called out, just before Visser Three killed him. I was crying.

FLASH! "It's okay, Cassie. It's okay," Rachel said.

I continued walking around the construction site. Something was here. I eyed an old shack. The roof was hanging off to the side. What was in there?

I started walking in the direction of the rusted shack.

FLASH! Yaaaaaah ha ha! Jake screamed as he dove in peregrine falcon morph.

FLASH! "Cinnamon buns! Bun-zuh!" Ax shouted in delight, as he ate a Cinnabon.

I was nearly at the shack. Why were my memories coming back to me? Something here was stimulating me to remember them.

I took a step inside the shack. It had a couple of old blankets, and some beer bottles. A homeless guy's home. Great. I was attracted to a hobo's hideout.

Yet I had been drawn to this place for some reason. There was something tugging at me.

FLASH! "Cassie, you're such a treehugger," Marco said. "This is a war. We just can't go around saving every animal."

FLASH! "Goodbye, Cassie." Jake's last words rang in my head.

I felt so alone. My friends were dead. I wanted them back.

"I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK!" I yelled to myself.

FLASH! "Remember them. Honor them. Save them." The Ellimist.

Wait. Save them? What was that all about?

_"Save them,"_ the Ellimist had said. Save who? My friends? The memory of them?

But how? I couldn't bring them back from the dead. Could I?

For a split second, I saw something I had seen before. It was a glowing sphere, taller than any human. It was white, and within it, millions of strands spun in a spiral.

And then it was gone.

What was it?, I thought. Then it hit me.

The Time Matrix.

With it, one could go back and forth in time. History could be changed. Entire families could never exist. It was the deadliest weapon ever created.

It was buried right beneath my feet, somewhere here.

_"Save them,"_ the Ellimist repeated in my head.

I would save my friends. I knew what I had to do.

For the first time in a very long time, I ran for my life.


	11. The End: Chapter 11

# Chapter 11-Marco

I'm telling you, if we could go back to Earth somehow, we could make big money. I was talking to everyone. That basically consisted of me, Jake, Tobias, Rachel, Ax, and Elfangor. We could say that heaven's a farce, and people would listen to us. After all, we saved the Earth. We'd ruin the major religions of the world!

Shut up, Marco, Rachel said.

Does Marco always talk incoherently about such subjects? Elfangor wondered. Tobias laughed.

Incoherently? Excuse me? What I am saying makes perfect sense, I answered defensively.

Marco, if the three major religions in the world were disproved at the same time, you'd probably create many problems. Jake, of course. Being the responsible one. As well as incurring the wrath of the leaders of all the religions. You'd become terrorist target number one.

Fine, whatever. It was only a fleeting idea of another way to get rich quick. I went back to watching Cassie dig holes in the ground.

Marco, in case you haven't noticed, we're dead, Rachel said. Your ideas to get rich quick are stupid. We can't make money unless we're _alive_.

Really? I didn't realize that before. Sorry, I replied sarcastically. I wasn't in the greatest mood.

The afterlife wasn't the same as I thought it would be. I thought I'd be going to a place where angels sing and everyone is one big happy family. There would be lots of fun and games, and everyday would be a big party. I'd be friends with God. I would be the biggest celebrity the heavenly guys had ever seen.

I had been wrongfully misled by my Sunday school teachers. That heaven was one nice fairy tale. We could see everything going on in the real world. But there were no bodies. We were like ghosts, except live people couldn't see us, and we couldn't talk to them.

We had seen Cassie go to Jake's parents and my parents. She went to tell them that their superhero children wouldn't be coming back.

My mom seemed to accept the news. She had been Visser One, so she knew a lot more about aliens and weird things. My dad had a look of blankness on is face, but I knew he was trying very hard to hold back tears.

I wanted to go down and say that I'm fine. That I could still watch over them, that I was alive in some sense. If the Sunday school heaven existed, I could have sent down an angel to comfort my parents. In reality, I could only watch them suffer.

Jake's parents were in utter disbelief. They refused to hear a word Cassie said for a long time. Eventually, they grasped the fact that Jake, the Yeerk-Killer, the biggest hero the world had, was not coming back.

We all watched that. It was definitely not something that cheered us up. Jake didn't talk for a little bit. I guess it shook him up badly to see his parents like that.

I felt for Jake's parents. They had lost both children in the war with the Yeerks. Tom was killed by Rachel during the final battle. Jake, well they had lost him even before he had died.

Before the war, Jake was your average high school kid. He liked talking about video games, comics, and girls. We went to the mall and hung out. All normal stuff. When the war started, he aged. Jake became this very responsible person. He was like one of those famous generals from history class-Patton, Eisenhower-he was a leader. He never wanted to be the leader. But he acted like it. Probably because he was more mature than the rest of us.

Jake's parents couldn't detect the change. But for three years, he transformed from a person everyone knew and loved into a person only we were familiar with.

After the war, Jake became a person no one knew about. He was a mystery, a person who shielded himself from the world. His daily routine would be hanging out at his parent's house, and then driving to Rachel's memorial in the evening, as the sun set. He didn't speak with anyone. Any time I saw him, he looked fazed out, like he was there but he was concentrating on something else. Sometimes, he sounded like the Jake of the old days. But there was something in his tired voice that told you he just wasn't in step with life. He was constantly behind.

I knew he blamed himself for Rachel's death. At the trial of Visser One, Cassie and I were able to shake himself out of his depressed mood. We couldn't have him screwing up while he was testifying.

Jake finally bought himself a house and got a job. He became more like the Jake I had been best friends with since we were little babies. But I knew that he thrived in the war, and he would never be the same.

Jake's parents saw their son and thought they saw the Jake they had known. But he had changed completely. He was a lost soul, someone who had been changed forever. Now that he was dead, his parents would never see the true Jake again.

I was never the most emotional of our little group. It's because whenever I made a plan, it was to get from point A to B, no matter what the consequences. I had to add the moral and emotional factors in after that.

Of course I was sad for Jake's parents. But they should realize that their children were gone, and they would never see them again. Life's not fair. What else could I say?

What is Cassie doing? Ax asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I do not see the point of removing dirt from the surface of the ground. We did not hide anything there, did we?

It is near the area where David found the morphing cube, Tobias said, but we got that a long time ago. Cassie has that now, and we never went back to the construction site.

Maybe she's looking for a hidden treasure, I suggested helpfully. You know, one of those maps that- 

Marco, speak only if you're going to be helpful, Rachel snapped.

Boy, aren't we sensitive, I muttered.

What is she digging for? Tobias asked.

I know why she is digging.

If we had eyes, we'd all be staring at Elfangor.

A long time ago, I ran away from the war between my people and the Yeerks. I became a _nothlit_, trapped in human morph. I married Loren, and we had a son. Tobias.

Everyone was silent. We knew all of this already. There was probably something the Ellimist hadn't told us. Not that he ever told us anything that was ever of any use.

But I hid something when I came to Earth. It is the most powerful weapon ever created. You can use it to go back in time, and change the past. Of course, that would change the course of the future.

The Time Matrix, Jake whispered.

The Time Matrix was a deadly weapon. In one of our missions, a Yeerk whose rank was Visser Four had gone into the past and altered time. We managed to catch up to him and kill Visser Four. We also had to eliminate the human host to Visser Four.

Not kill him. We had to use the Time Matrix to make sure his parents never met.

So he was never born.

So he never _existed_.

It was a ruthless thing to do. But we had to do. That way, Visser Four would never find the Time Matrix, and time would remain the same.

At the time, I was a lowly _aristh_, and I felt I should not have control over such an deadly weapon, Elfangor continued. So I buried it in a patch of woods just before I morphed to human.

That forest…it became the site of a construction, I said.

Hey! Using his excellent deducing skills, Marco actually figured out something! Rachel supplied.

Yeah, I always worked extra-hard on my deduction skills, I replied sardonically.

Correct. And when I crash-landed that night, I picked that site because it was near the Time Matrix. If I hadn't been mortally wounded, I might have been able to save myself. Elfangor droned on, completely ignoring the interruption.

So how does Cassie know it's here? Rachel demanded.

She probably doesn't, Elfangor replied. I wonder how she was able to locate it. Unless…unless the Ellimist showed her. That is a distinct possibility.

The Ellimist?! I asked, surprised. Wouldn't that break the rules of his little game with Crayak?

The Ellimist can find ways to bend the rules of his war with Crayak. I am sure that Crayak would not have allowed the Ellimist to restore me in my Andalite form. Even though there are rules, the Ellimist breaks them often, as does Crayak. They are there just for the sake of it.

Did you bury it deep? Jake questioned.

No, Elfangor responded. I dug a hole big enough, and rolled the Time Matrix into it. She should have found it by now, though. Why hasn't she been able to?

Probably because some sediment has been placed on top since, which would push that layer of soil down, I said.

Nobody said anything.

Hey guys, I still remember some stuff they taught in earth science, I said, annoyed. They thought I was an airhead. Plus, when they started construction, they may have piled tons of dirt on top.

Possibly. That is a plausible explanation, Ax said. I guess we will have to wait and see what she discovers.

We already have plenty of time to watch, I whined. Isn't there anything we could do?

Nope, Rachel said. You guys had it better. I had to wait three years until I could talk to you again. A few days is nothing.

I would have traded my foot for a book to read. But then again, I didn't have a foot. Fine, I'll watch, I said grumpily. What a waste of time.


	12. The End: Chapter 12

# Chapter 12-Cassie

I borrowed an earthmover and a bulldozer from a construction company nearby. I walked right in, told them I was Cassie the Animorph, and I got instant access to whatever I needed. It wasn't right to use my fame in this way, but I had to move fast. The Time Matrix was there.

The shack had to be removed. Too bad for the homeless guy who made it his home. He was sleeping on top of the most powerful weapon in the universe. I hope he was able to find another place to sleep. Marco would make a joke about it.

If he were here.

He was dead, along with the rest of the Animorphs.

_Save them_, the Ellimist's voice echoed in my head.

I had the police to set up a barricade around the whole area. Once I located the Time Matrix, I didn't need people all around me. It would be dangerous with others around.

I bulldozed the shack. There was nothing important inside, only a few beer bottles. Another artifact of the past was destroyed.

The earthmover was easy to operate. It had a steering wheel to move it around, and a joystick to move the digging part. In big letters, it said LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN. A little kid could have operated it.

As I dug, I thought about how I would save my friends. It wasn't as easy as I had originally thought. What was I going to do…

Originally, I had thought I could simply go back to the day of the battle, and have Jake decide not to send Rachel. But what good would that do? Then we'd all get blown up on the Pool ship.

I remembered what Ax had once told us about a phenomenon called a _Sario Rip_, a long time ago. If two of the same person existed at the same time, they annihilated each other and ceased to exist. That meant I couldn't go back to any time that I would be alive in. I would get myself killed.

Maybe it was an impossible situation. The Ellimist might be playing another one of his games, watching as I dug hopelessly.

Had I really imagined the Time Matrix? I strained to remember what it looked like, but I had forgotten. Maybe I had hallucinated the image. I might be going crazy. This was crazy. For all I knew, I was digging a new hole in the ground, with nothing at the bottom.

A whole lot of people watched me from outside the barricade everyday. They lined up like they were watching a movie shot. What was so interesting about watching me dig a hole? I have no idea.

For a week, I dug straight down. I found absolutely nothing. From sunup to sundown I worked, and I didn't find anything. It was discouraging. The papers said I was demented and crazy. Even the President questioned my sanity.

I ignored their comments. People could say all they want, but there was something in the ground, and I was going to find it, even if it cost me my job, my fame, everything I had ever cared for.

After another week, I still found nothing. Since I was working without extra help, I had only dug about fifteen feet.

One day was brutal. What seemed like millions of people showed up. There were chants of "Cassie is crazy". Racist groups used me as an example of how stupid black people were. That got the African-Americans mad, and suddenly, without knowing it, I had ignited a war of words. It was crazy.

I was about to give up. There was nothing. The President had presented me with an ultimatum-stop digging, or resign my position. Supposedly, I was making the President's administration looked bad. I was about to crack. The jeers, the taunts, they were all getting to me. I was an emotional wreck.

My mom visited me in the trailer where I was spending the nights. It was nice to have a friendly presence around for once.

"I'm going to stop," I told her. "I can't take this anymore."

"No, you're going to keep digging for whatever you're looking for," my mom replied. I looked up, startled by her quick reply.

My mom got in my face. "Do you realize the consequences if you stop?" she whispered. "Those racists out there will think they're right. You'll be their proof that African-Americans are lower than whites. Your fame, everything you've done, it won't matter. People think you can be broken and used to do whatever they want. You'll be a pariah."

"What am I supposed to do?" I cried. "What if I keep on digging and I find nothing? It'll be the same result. At least I can stop now and save some of my dignity."

My mom sighed. "Cassie, you're old enough to make the right decision. I'm not going to tell you what to do. But here's my advice: don't give up." She turned and opened the door. She gave me a sort of sad smile. "Good night, Cassie."

"Good night, Mom," I said back.

_Don't give up._

Fine, I wouldn't. I'd give it one more day. I decided to call the President.

"Hey, Cassie," he said in what I instantly recognized as a fake-nice voice.

"Hello, Mr. President." I took a deep breath. "If I do not find anything in the next day, I will abandon this project and return to work."

"Good, Cassie," he replied. He sounded weary. "It's about time. My press conferences are filled with questions about you. I can't have this continue. My whole agenda is being overshadowed by you. That's not good."

"I understand, Mr. President. As I said, I will let you know at the end of tomorrow what happens. I keep my word." I paused. "Please don't make this phone call public knowledge," I added.

"Of course. Let me know what happens. I have a meeting now. Get some rest, Cassie."

"Thank you, Mr. President. Good night, sir." I hung up and went to sleep. I needed it.

I woke up early next morning, before any of the protestors were out. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Great. The better the day, the more protestors.

Noon passed, and I still hadn't come up with anything. The racists and African-American groups, like the NAACP and Nation of Islam, were out in force. They yelled at each other the whole time. I heard ridiculous speeches, all focused on my sanity. It was completely outrageous.

I could tell the racists sensed victory. The President had talked to the press about the phone call we had. Politicians can't be trusted to keep their word. Everyone knew I had until the end of today to turn up something.

The jeers were much more personal today. I couldn't stand it. I refused to put on earmuffs, though. They would know I was weakening.

Police helicopters flew overhead to keep the peace. Hundreds of police were in riot gear, restraining the crowd. I started to fear for my personal safety.

The sun began to set, and I still found nothing. I had dug two feet today, a much faster rate than I had done before. Time was running out. There were still thousands of people there. I ate a granola bar for dinner. No time could be wasted.

Nightfall came, and still nothing. Some people left, but the majority of the people stayed. They wanted to see what happened. The racists occasionally called out how much more time until midnight. The clock was ticking down on me. I worked faster than I had done before.

I glanced at my watch. Eleven-thirty. Only half an hour until I had to give up. I wanted so badly to cry. Never had I taken so much emotional battering in my entire life. But I couldn't. I had to be strong, just for another thirty minutes.

I kept digging. Soon, I hit something solid. My heart started beating quickly. Had I found the Time Matrix? Had I actually done it?

I dug around the solid thing as fast as I could. I glanced at my watch. Five minutes until midnight. The end of my life as I would know it.

"I found something!" I yelled on the radio. I ran over to the ladder and climbed down the hole I had spent two weeks making. Never had I been so excited.

I reached the bottom. And I saw it.

It was about seven feet tall, a perfect sphere. A smooth white globe, it contained the strands of space-time, swirling around.

The Time Matrix. I had found it.

At that instant, I saw my plan. I saw the clear, straight path from point A to point B. It was horrible, cruel, ruthless. Anyone who knew me would be shocked. I was shocked at myself for even thinking of it. I didn't even know myself anymore.

I knew the Ellimist would go along. After all, he was the one who planted the idea in my head. Crayak wouldn't allow it. The Ellimist would pretend to go against me as well.

As if they had read my mind, the Ellimist and Crayak showed up. One good, one evil. I'm not sure about that.

Crayak appeared as a muscular, bionic machine. He had a single red eye, and was a dark black, blacker than the deepest depths of space. I could barely see him.

The Ellimist showed up as well. He appeared to me as he normally did, as an old, wise-looking man. Although I couldn't be sure, he actually looked scared.

This was my final stand. If it didn't work out, I would forever be known as Crazy Cassie, Cassie the Demented, and many more names. I would be a fool.

For what might have been the last time, I looked at my watch. It was frozen at 11:59:55. Five seconds.

I smiled Rachel's swaggering smile. Maybe it would bring me some luck. I tried to look brave.

Deep down, I was totally terrified.


	13. The End: Chapter 13

# Chapter 13-Cassie

"Hello, Cassie," the Ellimist said. "You have found the Time Matrix. That is a feat that not many can be able to claim. Still, I would advise you to cover it up and never speak of what you found." He smiled a sad smile, a sign that he was saying this for Crayak's benefit.

"Sorry, Ellimist," I replied. "You won't be able to convince me to act like I never found the Time Matrix."

"Won't we," Crayak said, laughing this deep, bellowing laugh. It chilled my spine. "Although the Ellimist and I do not agree on much, we do agree that the Time Matrix does not belong in the hands of a mere player."

"That's what I am to you? A player in your intergalactic war?" I retorted angrily. "Do you know what will happen to me if I bury this up? I will be ridiculed by the entire world. My life as I know it will be over. My family's name will be disgraced for as long as this memory lives on in people's minds. There is absolutely NO WAY I am burying this up and pretending I never did this."

"That's just too bad," Crayak said derisively. "You must bury the Time Matrix. There is no other choice."

"Yes, there is another choice," I whispered. "Yes, there is." I straightened up, stood as tall as I could. "We're going to make a deal."

It was an insane thing to say. Both the Ellimist and Crayak knew it, and they started laughing. When they both realized they were laughing at the same thing, they stopped.

"A deal?!" the Ellimist said incredulously. "You must be joking. A deal?" he repeated.

"Yeah, a deal," I said, trying to act tough. "Actually, you're going to do what I tell you."

"We could erase you from the space-time continuum," Crayak said. "You can't do anything to prevent us from doing that."

That angered me. He thought I was some kind of idiot.

"Crayak, I'm smarter than that," I replied. "If you did that, you'd screw up the space-time continuum. Strands of space-time would be broken, and you'd have no choice but to restore me."

Crayak sighed. I had called his bluff.

"This is what you're going to do," I said. I took a deep breath and just blurted it out. "You're going to reverse time by three years, to the day of the final battle between the Yeerks and the Animorphs. The exact moment will be when Rachel is battling the Yeerks on the Blade ship. You will move her to the bridge of the Pool ship after she kills Tom."

"You know we can't do that," the Ellimist said. "It would break the rules of our war. Sorry, Cassie."

"Yes, you will. If you don't, I'll go back in time and kill the first of your respective species before you're ever alive."

I had done it. I had just delivered a threat to the two most powerful creatures in the universe. And they couldn't do anything to me. It would break the rules of their war.

There was a deafening silence. The Ellimist looked shocked, but I knew he was on my side. I couldn't read Crayak's expression. His face didn't give away his feelings.

"Cassie, you won't do that," Crayak sneered. "Your moral values won't allow you to. Blackmailing two people who have never done anything to you? That's not nice."

"Really?" I challenged. "You want to put your life in the hands of my moral values? I wouldn't be so confident, Crayak."

The Ellimist grinned a little.

"Or you too, Ellimist," I said, making him remember his life was on the line as well.

For the longest time, no one spoke. I looked at my watch. It was still five seconds short of midnight. Even though I had all the time in the world, I was getting impatient. I didn't feel like waiting hours for the Ellimist and Crayak to make a decision.

Both of them were looking at each other. I couldn't tell whether they were communicating by thought-speak or some other form. I wondered what it felt like for them. The two had never faced a greater threat to their existence before. Would they give in?

If they refused, I wasn't so sure I could carry out my threat. It was cruel of me to blackmail them. What else could I do? I wouldn't be able to bring my friends back any other way.

I had called Crayak's bluff earlier. I prayed he didn't call mine now. If he did, my world would crash down on me. The only thing I was counting on was that both of them valued their life more than their war.

"Cassie, do you realize what you've done?" the Ellimist said calmly.

"What, you think I'm stupid, too?" I snapped back furiously. Too many people had called me stupid and crazy recently. I'd had enough.

"Just do it," Crayak said with a defeated sigh. "The girl could kill us! Break the rules, just this once, Ellimist. I'll allow it. Then we can continue the game, only three years earlier."

"She could ruin the space-time continuum! What happens if she decides to use the Time Matrix again to demand something from us?" the Ellimist responded. He was acting his part as the concerned one.

"Turning the clock back won't ruin the continuum," Crayak said. "We aren't adding a new element into space-time, we are merely turning the clock back, and then simply manipulating a small strand if space-time. Besides, she will not know where the Time Matrix is located after time is rewound."

"Crayak, you forget things quickly," the Ellimist chided. "She is sub-temporally grounded. An anomaly in the continuum. The human cannot forget past timelines. She will destabilize the timeline."

"She does not remember what occurred in past timelines. She can only sense that something used to be, but will not clearly remember. Maybe with some luck, she will completely forget about the Time Matrix. As for the possibility of destabilization, it could occur. But we both know that the possibility of that is only twenty-five percent."

"That's a one in four chance! There's a very good chance the timeline will be destabilized!"

"It can be fixed. Quit looking for the escape, Ellimist. Just do the girl's request. We're trapped."

The Ellimist fell silent. I was surprised. Crayak argued for me. That was a change. Maybe he was the good guy this time.

"Okay, Cassie," the Ellimist said, speaking to me. "We will do as you say. Is there anything else you would like us to do?"

"Yeah. When Tobias is trapped in human morph, give him back his morphing power." I thought for a second, thinking if there was anything more. "That's it."

"Very well. The Ellimist and I will do all this. You must realize that there may be unseen consequences due to your actions, Cassie," Crayak said with a wicked grin. Chills went down my spine.

"I'll take my chances. What do I have to lose?"

"It's your choice. Don't blame us for not warning you," Crayak said. He looked at the Ellimist. "At least don't blame me."

"You have two minutes, starting now," I told them. "Better get to work."

Instantly, they were gone. My watch now read 12:00:01. I heard a loud rumble and the sound of stomping feet. The police barricade must have broken. A stampede of people were dashing to where I was.

I hoped the Ellimist and Crayak would hurry. There was no way ordinary people could see the Time Matrix. I was nervous.

I sat down, suddenly tired. My legs just weakened under the enormous tension. I looked at my watch. One more minute until I would be forced to destroy Crayak and the Ellimist. One more minute until my life would be changed, in one way or another.

I waited.


	14. The End: Chapter 14

# Chapter 14-Rachel

We just watched in stunned silence. All of us. Even Marco didn't have something idiotic to say.

Cassie had just faced down two people who could erase her from the memory of time. She had bent the Ellimist and Crayak to her will. It was amazing. In all my time alive, I had never seen this side of Cassie. In her darkest times, she never had resorted to ruthlessness as merciless as this. I was her best friend. I would know.

Her plan was cold and calculating. It was also a little bit selfish, a quality Cassie had never shown. She wanted her friends back. I felt a little bad for the Ellimist. He was the only surviving member of his race, and he couldn't bring them back to life.

Cassie wants me back, Marco said. I feel wanted.

Yeah, I'm sure she really wants you back, I shot back. Must have forgot to tell the Ellimist to leave you.

Why are you always mean to me? Does it give you some kind of sick pleasure?

No, but when you continue to say stupid things, I'll continue to be mean.

Okay, you guys can shut up now, Jake said. We're all getting a second lease on life. I guess that's a good thing. We had-

You guess it's a good thing? You guess being brought back to life is a good thing? Marco said mockingly. Are you okay?

As I was saying, Jake continued, disregarding Marco, we had better not mess things up. Everything will go-

Jake, you will not be able to remember any of this, Elfangor interjected. When time is reversed three years, you will not have any knowledge of the future. If you did, that would destabilize the space-time continuum.

Oh. Yeah, Jake said, trying to cover himself.

Even though you will not remember any of this, I will. Since essences are not part of the continuum, I will have full knowledge of what has occurred these past three years. It will be odd to see what happens in the next three years, knowing what would have happened.

I looked at Cassie, cowering in the hole she had dug. We had heard the threats, we had seen the riots and protests. It was utter insaneness.

If I had been alive, I would have murdered the whole lot of the racists. They had said things about my best friend that I couldn't repeat. I felt so helpless, watching these people rip apart Cassie, even though they had never known her.

Those two weeks had been crazy. We watched, we hoped for Cassie. Yeah, we all wanted to be alive, but even if we were still dead, I wanted Cassie to find the Time Matrix. Just to prove those morons wrong, at the least.

Right now, thousands of people were running towards the hole. The police had been distracted, and the crowd had pushed their way through. They had all seen Cassie disappear and not come back up.

I was worried about Cassie. I knew most of the people coming her way were not friendly. Maybe some of them were even hostile. But I knew Cassie would be okay somehow. And anyways, time would probably be reversed by then.

Father, I wish I would remember this time. It has been…been… Tobias couldn't find the words. I've enjoyed it. Now I know who you are. I…I love you.

I love you too, Tobias, Elfangor said in a comforting voice. You will always be in my thoughts and memories. The conversations we have had I will treasure. Until you join me again, I will pray for the health of you and Loren.

It was touching, and it was sad as well. Tobias had finally had a chance to get to know his actual father. And now he would be wrenched away, with no memory of it.

I wondered why Cassie hadn't asked for Elfangor to be brought back. But he had already been dead, and restoring a long-lost strand of space-time would mess everything up a lot. I wasn't exactly sure. It had been a long time since the Ellimist told his story to me.

What is taking the Ellimist and Crayak so long to dial us back three years in time? Marco wondered.

Maybe it's not as easy as you think it is, I mumbled.

Tobias, can you please tell Rachel to be nice to me?! I don't do anything and she gets all mad.

What was going on? The Ellimist should have moved us back in time already. This was taking much longer than it should have. And now Cassie was in much more danger. The first people had just arrived at the mouth of the hole. They were starting to climb down towards Cassie. I could tell she was tense.

Is the Ellimist going to do this? I mean, he could have just lied to make Cassie happy, Jake thought out loud. 

The Ellimist, though he manipulates and distorts much, keeps his word, Elfangor said. It is ironic that I say that. When dealing with the Ellimist, our axiom is "Never trust them." My people are still under the mistaken impression that there is more than one Ellimist out there.

Cassie had just looked at her watch. I guess the Ellimist and Crayak had passed her personal time limit. Just as she was about to touch the Time Matrix, one of the racists had reached the bottom.

No! I yelled.

The racist raced towards Cassie, hands outstretched. She had just put one of her hands on the surface of the Time Matrix. Her eyes were closed, deep in concentration. This couldn't be happening.

Cassie! No! Jake cried.

Perhaps I was incorrect in my statement, Elfangor stated.

Yeah, well it's not going to-

-Something striking at my face again and again. The cobra. Couldn't even see him.

I had failed. Tom. Alive.

Die, human, he said. Just die.

Rachel! Tobias cried.

Help me, Tobias, I pleaded.

I can't…I…

He didn't understand. Help me get him. Help me get him!

Okay. Okay. He's…your left paw, towards your face. Get ready. Has to be fast.

I'm ready.

Now!

I jerked my paw forward, claws extended toward my face.

Tom shrieked. I couldn't see him. but I felt something squirming. Like a worm on a fishhook. The snake was impaled on my claws.

No! Tom cried in outrage.

I brought my paw to my mouth.

Sorry, I said vaguely.

Jake, stop her! the Yeerk screamed with Tom's mouth.

I bit down on the snake.

I lay there in suspended animation.

I felt myself floating.

The bear was melting. Old grizzly bear, my friend. Good old bear.

I demorphed. The snake was still in my mouth. Motionless.

I was Rachel again, the human Rachel, alive, unhurt. I could have bounded up and gone off to the mall to shop. But I didn't kid myself. I didn't hope.

I spit the snake out.

I was surrounded on all sides. I was only a weak human girl now. The polar bear loomed over me, his strength the equal of my own grizzly, but now I was just me, just Rachel.

I could see the viewscreen. I could see my best friend Cassie. Jake. Marco, funny Marco. Ax.

Tobias.

He had morphed. He was his human self once more. He'd done that for me. And because he was crying. Humans cry, hawks don't.

"I love you," I said to the screen.

And oh, god, how could so much regret and so much sweetness and so much sadness all be present in that single moment. I was already dead and missing my unlived life. I was already dead and Tobias was mourning.

I tried to smile. For him.

The polar bear said, You fight well, human.

He swung his paw-

-I was no longer on the Blade ship. What had happened? The polar bear was about to kill me. Now, I was standing next to my friends on the bridge of the Pool ship.

I touched my face. Real. I shook my legs. Real.

It was me, the alive me. Unhurt, completely healthy.

"Rachel?!" Tobias said, wiping his tears away. "Is it actually you?" He ambled over towards me.

"Yeah, I think so." I slapped myself. "Owwwwwwww!" A little harder than I had wanted. But it hurt. That meant I was alive.

"Rachel!" Tobias completely broke down. I hugged him tight. I knew what he had almost gone through. He had nearly lost me. And by some miracle, I was standing with my friends.

I had never believed in miracles or supernatural forces. Being saved from unavoidable death will change your mind easily.

Visser One was staring at me in amazement. I guess he had never seen anything like it before, either. His Andalite body was quivering with fear.

In all my years, I have never managed to kill one of the Animorphs, the Yeerk said through his stolen thought-speak. And yet, as I am about to witness the death of one of you pesky humans, you are saved. Is it impossible to even kill you?

I shrugged. "I don't know. We get lucky most of the time."

Look! Jake yelled, still in his tiger morph. He was pointed one of his paws to the viewscreen.

The Blade ship was heading straight for us! I knew the Yeerks couldn't fire on us. I had destroyed the weapons panel on the ship. But now they were on a collision course with the Pool ship.

The screen became alive. A picture of a human-Controller appeared. His face was twisted with rage and uncontrolled anger. "I don't know how you managed to escape," he said through clenched teeth, pointing at me. "But now I will make sure you don't get away this time. You killed our leader. For that, you will pay the ultimate price." The screen flashed off.

"Helm is still unresponsive!" one of the human-Controllers on the bridge shouted. "What do we do, Visser?"

Nothing. There is nothing to be done, the visser said. His stalk eyes drooped a little. But at least in death, I will know that the Animorphs will die as well! He spat the word 'Animorphs' as harshly as the Andalites said 'Yeerk'. It was amazing to know the Yeerks hated us that much.

The Blade ship was picking up speed quickly. We could do nothing and watch as our death approached.


	15. The End: Chapter 15

# Chapter 15-Jake

I was as stunned as everybody else who had been watching.

How had Rachel made it off of the Blade ship? One second, I was about to watch her die, and the next second, she was standing next to us on the Pool ship.

Suddenly, it hit me, the magnitude of the actions I had ordered.

Tom was dead. The Yeerk in his head was dead.

I had commanded my cousin to kill my brother. How would I ever justify that?

The seventeen thousand Yeerks in the pool.

General Doubleday's troops, who provided the hopeless diversion on the ground.

All of the auxiliary Animorphs, who had went with General Doubleday's troops. James, Erica, Collette. The disabled kids that I had given the chance to fight.

Many of the free Hork-Bajir.

And probably many more. All dead because of me.

There were other things we had to worry about, though. The Blade ship was heading right for us. This time, there would be no escape.

Jake, what do we do? Cassie asked.

We get to die, Marco replied cynically. Like standing in front of a car that's coming right at you, and you stand still. Only this is in space.

A blue flash, off to my right!

Visser One leaped at me, tail blade flashing. If I were human, I would be dead. But I was a tiger.

FWAAP!

I jumped off to the left, just avoiding being sliced. I could feel the breeze as the tail blade whipped by.

Rachel, morph to grizzly bear! I yelled. It really didn't matter whether we lived or died. Even if we won this battle, the Blade ship would finish us off. Visser One was distracting us from trying to escape.

Ax leaped at Visser One. The two of them were tail-fighting at lightning speed. The human-Controllers were scrambling to get Dracon beams.

TSEEEW!

A neat circle was burned into my flank. That made me mad.

"Rrrrrrrooooowwwww!" I roared as I jumped at the nearest Controller. I slapped the Dracon beam away from him. Then I slapped my paw against the side of his head. The Controller slumped, unconscious.

Rachel had almost finished her morph. Cassie and Marco were fighting with the other Controllers. I was about to head over to them when I heard Tobias yell something.

"Jake, behind you!" he shouted, still human. I looked.

The only Controller still conscious had a Dracon beam pointed at my head. He would vaporize my brain. The others were too far away. By the time they reached me, I would be dead.

"Good-bye, big kitty," the Controller said with a laugh. His finger was depressing the trigger.

"NOOOOOO!" Tobias yelled. He ran over and knocked the Controller to the ground. The Dracon beam fired wildly, hitting Visser One in the chest.

You idiot! Visser One screamed in pain.

FWAAP!

Ax nailed Visser One on the side of the head. The body of Alloran-Semitur-Corrass fell to the floor, out cold.

The Controller punched Tobias in the chest. Tobias fell back, the wind knocked out of him. Now the Controller took aim at Tobias.

He didn't fire in time. Rachel picked him up and threw him against the panels. The Controller was vibrating uncontrollably. Sparks were flying. He was being electrocuted.

I looked out the window. The Blade ship was directly in front of us, and gaining speed. No time to escape.

Everybody, demorph, I said. No one answered, but human bodies began to emerge from various wild animals.

The viewscreen came alive again. The same human-Controller that had spoken before was there. On his face was a wild, crazy look.

"Goodbye, Animorphs," he snickered. "In a few seconds, I will accomplish what Visser One couldn't do in three years! Ah ha ha!"

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

Green streaks of light hit the bridge of the Blade ship. The entire ship disintegrated into its individual atoms. The viewscreen crackled and showed static. We all turned to see the source of the green beams.

A Dome ship! Ax exclaimed.

It was a Dome ship. It looked like a tree, with engines at the bottom of the trunk, and a dome at the top, with many types of plants. In the middle of the trunk, it bulged out, where the weapons and living quarters were.

But now it was rotating around, and its shredders were almost pointed at us.

"Uh-oh," Tobias said. "I think they're going to destroy us."

"Gee, do you think?" Marco asked.

"Ax, open a channel with the Dome ship. Hurry," I ordered.

Did you really think I'd die that quickly? a voice said. Visser One! He had regained consciousness.

Before I could say something, Ax whipped his tail, and Visser One was unconscious again.

"Thanks, Ax," I said. But that was a few more precious seconds wasted. "Rachel, morph to grizzly. Tell the visser to leave his stolen Andalite body or we will yank him out. Marco, find something to put the Yeerk in."

"No problem-o," Marco said. He started rummaging around for a container. Brown fur began to sprout from Rachel's fair skin.

I have sent a request to open communications, Prince Jake, Ax reported. If they do not accept, we can do nothing.

"Well, we did all we could," I said.

The viewscreen lightened. A picture of an Andalite was onscreen. He seemed to be smiling a sneering smile. This was not going to be easy.

Begging for mercy, Yeerk? the Andalite officer mocked. It will be interesting to hear your pathetic reasons as to why we should spare you.

I am _aristh_ Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, younger brother of War-Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, Ax said. With the help of humans, I have captured this Pool ship. I thank you for destroying the Blade ship.

Clearly you are a Controller, the Andalite replied. One Andalite and a handful of humans could never take a Pool ship. You are wasting my time. He was about to disconnect. If he did, we were dead.

"Ask him if we could talk to their captain," Tobias whispered. "He probably knows about us."

We request that we speak to the captain of your ship, Ax repeated.

As you wish, Yeerk, the Andalite spat. The screen went blank for a second, then another Andalite was shown. He was older, and had a few scars on his face. This Andalite had seen battle before.

This is Captain-Prince Kerrath-Wathill-Dorass of the Dome ship _SilverBlade_, the Andalite said. What do you want, Yeerk?

I am not a Yeerk, Ax protested. I am _aristh_ Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, and I-

Prince Elfangor's little brother? Captain Kerrath questioned.

Yes, Ax said with a sigh. We have captured this Pool ship. Visser One is our prisoner.

I am impressed, Kerrath told us. At least he wasn't too arrogant. I have heard of your escapades on Earth. How can we positive that you are not Yeerks?

"You'll just have to trust us," I said, speaking for the first time.

Who are you? the Andalite asked.

"I am Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs," I answered.

He is my prince, Ax added.

"I'm no one's prince," I muttered under my breath.

Very well, Kerrath said. I will send a shuttle along with myself and my senior officers aboard shortly. My regrets to you for the officer that caused you problems. The screen flickered, then faded.

There was a huge collective sigh of relief. We had nearly gotten blown up by our supposed allies.

Toby Hamee, the leader of the free Hork-Bajir, raced onto the bridge. She was bleeding heavily, but scars were starting to cover her wounds.

"The Yeerks with Hork-Bajir hosts fought back," she said gravely. "We had no choice but to kill all of them. My father, Jara Hamee, died bravely in battle."

"I'm really sorry, Toby," I said. "I wish it could have turned out another way."

"He died bravely. He died defending the free Hork-Bajir. He died with honor. He has brought pride to my family," Toby said, pride filling her voice.

"Toby, bring the rest of the Hork-Bajir here to the bridge," Tobias said.

"Why?"

"The Andalites will be here soon, and the history between the Andalites and the Hork-Bajir isn't too friendly. With your people here, they will be better protected," I said.

"Yes, that would make sense. I will be right back." Toby ran off the bridge.

"Rachel, tell Erek in thought-speak that we'll have company soon. If he doesn't want to divulge his existence, he should leave. We won't tell anyone about the Chee."

Okay, Jake, Rachel answered from her grizzly bear morph. Visser One had not emerged yet.

I collapsed suddenly. I was worn out from our final battle. The emotions that I had withheld for the past few hours were hitting me now.

Tom. Ever since we started fighting the Yeerks, I wanted to free Tom. To have my brother back, not an imposter. Those three years, I lived alongside him, knowing he was helpless, and knowing that doing anything would get my friends and I killed. I could barely wait for the day in which I would be able to free him.

When I made our battle plans, I knew that my wish would never come true. I knew the Yeerk in Tom's head never planned to release him. After we captured the Pool ship, he would blow us up with the Blade ship, and run away. I couldn't let that happen.

I had sent Rachel with him. I ordered her to kill Tom. There was no other choice. And my dream, the one that kept me strong through these years of war, disappeared in an instant.

I should have lost Rachel as well. But by some miracle, she was transported from the Blade ship to the Pool ship. I wondered how it happened, why it happened. The Ellimist might have done it, but it was against the rules of his little war with Crayak.

"Wake me up when the Andalites come," I told the others. My mind was spinning with too many thoughts. I needed to have a clear head when the Andalites came onboard.

As soon as I sat down, I was instantly asleep.


	16. The End: Chapter 16

# Chapter 16-Axmili

We let Jake sleep. Any prince should be allowed to rest after a battle. This battle was more personal for Jake, though. We had to kill his brother. No Andalite would ever dream of having to commit such an act. But most Andalites have not fought Yeerks as much as we have. Most Andalites do not have siblings who have been infested.

"Hey, look at Visser One!" Cassie exclaimed, pointing her finger at the body of Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.

A gray slug was slowly emerging from the Andalite ear. At long last, we had freed the only Andalite ever to be infested by the Yeerks.

"Here we go," Marco said, lifting up a black box. Humans call it a 'briefcase'. I am not exactly sure why.

"Cookies! I am a little hungry," Marco said. He took out a bag that contained many chocolate chip cookies.

Of all human foods, chocolate is one of the best. When I eat chocolate, it is wonderful. I cannot describe the feeling one gets when they eat chocolate.

The slug that was Visser One was now laying on the floor, helpless. This was the creature that had killed so many Andalite warriors. He had spread destruction across the galaxy. Most importantly, he had murdered my brother, Elfangor.

I whipped my tail and impaled the Yeerk on the end of my blade. Visser One was dead. The evilest Yeerk was no more.

"What did you do that for?!" Rachel demanded, in her human form. She had demorphed from grizzly bear. "Jake said to take the visser prisoner, not to kill him!"

Visser One killed my brother, I replied slowly. By Andalite custom, I must avenge my brother's death. There have been many times I could have killed the visser, but I could not. Now I have finally done my duty. My brother can now rest in peace, now that his death has been avenged.

"You'll have some explaining to do to Jake, Ax-man," Marco said.

My actions are justified, I responded.

"Justified?" Cassie questioned. "Elfangor was helpless when he was killed. Visser One was helpless when you killed him. You're just as bad as the Yeerks are!"

"Cassie, Ax is an Andalite," Tobias, my _shorm_, said. "He follows his customs. If we don't like them, it's not our business to go changing their rules."

The free Hork-Bajir came to the bridge. Most of them were ones we had freed from cages. Toby was in the front.

"These are the remaining Hork-Bajir," she said. "We are here, at your service, if you are in need."

Thank you, I answered. I looked out at the Dome ship. I saw a shuttle departing from the landing bay. They would be at the Pool ship in a few minutes.

We should wake up Jake, should we not? I asked.

Cassie went over to Jake and shook him. "Jake, the Andalites are almost here. We need you."

"Huh? What? Oh, okay," Jake said, wiping his eyes. He stood up, and surveyed the bridge. Besides the Animorphs, the free Hork-Bajir were present, as well as an unconscious War-Prince Alloran. A small group of experienced warriors.

"Ax, do you think the Andalites will give us a morphing cube?" Jake asked.

I do not know, I replied truthfully. Before my brother gave you the morphing power, only the Andalites possessed the technology. Never before have we willingly given the power to other species. I am not sure. Captain-Prince Kerrath is fair, though. If we explain, we may be able to convince him.

"Yeah, like you Andalites have ever come off your white horse," Marco muttered.

We do not have white horses. It would be-

"Ax, it was a figure of speech," Marco said. "An expression, a metaphor. Forget about it."

There was a drilling noise somewhere on the ship. It was the sound of the shuttle docking with the Pool ship, but my friends did not know that.

"What's that noise?" Rachel asked. "It sounds like someone carving a hole in the ship."

Andalite shuttle have drills in order to dock with any ship. A hole is made so that the passengers can exit, I said.

I heard the plodding as the Andalites exited the shuttle. There was a lot of stomping as they made their way towards the bridge, where we were waiting.

The Andalite warriors came in, shredders raised. Extra power cells were slung around their shoulders. Some of them looked at the Hork-Bajir with raised eyebrows. Nearly all of them got a glimpse of Alloran, who was still 'out cold', as humans would say.

Captain Kerrath came in, with four of his senior officers following him. He walked around the bridge and observed us. I felt trapped. The Andalite warriors had surrounded us, as though we were prisoners.

"Um, this doesn't look so friendly," Marco said.

"Shut up," Rachel told him.

What are these Hork-Bajir doing here? Captain Kerrath's thought-speak boomed in our heads.

They are our allies, I said politely. We could not have achieved this victory without their help. Although it was a very un-Andalite thing to say, I believe in giving credit where it is due.

Hork-Bajir as allies?! Have you forgot what they taught you in history class? Kerrath said, slightly disbelieving.

"Ax, I'll take it from here," Jake interjected. "Captain, these Hork-Bajir are part of the free Hork-Bajir colony. During the war, we have been able to free some Hork-Bajir, and they live in a hidden valley."

Why do they need to be present in this meeting? Kerrath inquired.

"Their leader, Toby Hamee, is a seer," Jake said. Toby stepped forward. "She is smarter than the average Hork-Bajir, and is as smart as any one of us. She is here to represent their interests."

As you say. This is remarkable, Kerrath said, softening the tone of his thought-speak. A few Hork-Bajir, a handful of humans, and one Andalite. Amazing. He touched the walls of the Pool ship. You have stopped the spread of the Yeerk Empire. You may have saved the galaxy. He eyed Alloran. What about the visser?

"War-Prince Alloran is no longer infested," Jake replied. "The Yeerk has been removed his head, and is being kept prisoner."

Show us the Yeerk, Kerrath ordered. I want to see Visser One in his slug form myself.

Jake looked at Marco. "Where is he?"

"Um…" Marco looked at me. "Actually, Ax killed him. Nailed him with his tail blade. We all saw it. You were sleeping."

"You killed him?!" Jake asked, his face turning red. "Without telling me?"

Andalite custom states that I must avenge my brother's death. That is all I did, I answered solemnly.

"I told you not to kill him! You were supposed to put him in a container! Why didn't any of you stop him?" Jake asked the others. They shrugged their shoulders.

Prince Jake, Aximili was following his customs. There is no need to punish him, Kerrath said.

Jake's shoulders sagged. He was beaten on that point. "Okay, whatever," he said softly.

We have transport waiting to return you to Earth, the captain said. Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

"Yes. I have promised the Taxxons a chance to acquire the morphing technology. Perhaps we could allow the remaining Yeerks to acquire it as well," Jake said.

WHAT?! Kerrath bellowed. You promised those foul species the chance to acquire Andalite technology? Absolutely not. Permission is denied.

"Sir, don't you see?" Cassie said. "The Taxxons are prisoners to their hunger. We could allow them to become _nothlits_, and they would no longer need food constantly. As for the Yeerks, they need the Kandrona rays. As _nothlits_, they would no longer need them. There would be no need to be parasites."

I refuse to give you the technology. No other species are allowed to acquire the morphing power. I will not allow it on my watch.

There was a silence. Jake and Kerrath glared at each other. The Andalites shuffled their hooves, and my human friends were whispering to each other. Toby was talking with them as well.

I could not do anything. I had disobeyed the Andalite high command before. I was not going to get myself in more trouble. Kerrath did have a point.

The humans looked at me. I looked away. I knew they were 'counting on me' to 'come through' for them, but I couldn't. Even if I wanted to, it was impossible.

Tobias walked over to Jake. "If we give in now, we're the ones on the low end of the ladder," he said to my prince. Jake nodded.

Kerrath himself looked preoccupied. The senior officers seemed to be thought-speaking privately with him. They kept looking at me. I was nervous, wondering if I was being talked about.

I will confer with my senior officers aboard my ship, Kerrath said abruptly. I may also contact the high command to determine the proper course of action. He motioned to the warriors, and they marched back to the docking ship.

The humans breathed a sigh of relief. I could tell that they had been very nervous. I was nervous as well. My arms and legs were shaking. My fur was covered in a damp sweat.

"How long will it take them to come to a decision?" Cassie asked, sweat dripping off her face.

It depends, a new voice said.

"Ax? That didn't sound like you," Jake said, looking around.

Correct. This is War-Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass, said my fellow Andalite, standing up, freed after years of enslavement to Visser One.

I am sorry for knocking you out, I told Alloran.

Do not be. You did what you had to do, _aristh_ Aximili, the prince replied. Although I may be disgraced forever by my actions on the Hork-Bajir home world, as well as being the only Andalite to be taken alive by the Yeerks, I will help you. He swiveled his stalk eyes to Jake. Jake, out of all his many enemies, Visser One feared you the most. I have seen your leadership, and you are to be respected. As long as time permits, I am yours to command. He bowed his head down.

"Um…thanks," Jake said hesitantly. "Anyways, what were you saying about the Andalite high command?"

It will depend on many things, Alloran said. Many years have passed since I last saw my planet, so my assumptions may not be correct. I knew Captain-Prince Kerrath when we were both _arisths_. He is a very logical and impartial person. Our best chance lies with him. The Andalite high command is nothing more than a bunch of politicians. I suspect that they would revolt at the idea of giving other species the power to morph.

"Great," Marco muttered.

"How long will it take?" Jake asked.

I do not know, Alloran answered. We will have to wait and see. If I remember Kerrath, it may take some time. He always thinks carefully before arriving to a decision.

"Yeah, well, he didn't seem so hot about our idea," Rachel shot back.

War changes people. When I was a young, naïve _aristh_, I knew nothing about war. Later on, when I became a warrior and eventually a war-prince, I became a foreigner, even to myself. The war had changed me in ways I had never known possible. Even now, as I look back, it is hard to remember what I used to be.

Receiving a transmission from the _SilverBlade_, I told Jake.

"Put it on the viewscreen," Jake replied.

Captain Kerrath appeared. He appeared unhappy. That could be good or bad. During my time on Earth, I learned that rarely does something have only one meaning. That made me wary of drawing conclusions hastily.

Greetings, he began. I have considered all- His eyes flickered in Alloran's. Alloran? Is that you? he said wonderingly.

Yes, old friend, it is I, Alloran said, tears forming in his eyes. I am free, at last. You do not know how terrible it is to be enslaved. Many times I thought I would never see this day, but the gods have smiled on me.

I am happy for you, Kerrath said politely. He was impatient. We can talk later. At the moment, I am here to deliver my orders. After considering both sides' arguments, I sought advice from the Andalite high command.

Jake ran his hands through his hair. "Twenty bucks I can tell you what his orders are," Marco hissed. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

_Aristh_ Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is hereby elevated to the rank of War-Prince. War-Prince Aximili will be provided with an undetermined number of Escafil Devices which he will use as he sees fit. Transport will arrive in five minutes. The screen went black.

Prince? I was a prince? A few minutes ago, I had been a lowly _aristh_. Now I was a war-prince, the highest rank in the Andalite military. I didn't know what to say.

Congratulations, _Prince_, Alloran said, raising his tail over his head. I brought my tail up, and our blades touched.

"I guess you don't need to call me your prince anymore," Jake said. I believed he was joking. Human humor is a very hard concept to grasp.

I looked out the window of the Pool ship. The shuttle had left the Dome ship and was nearly docked with us. It would be time to return to Earth.

"Alloran, would you like to come with us?" Tobias asked gently.

Thank you, but I would rather stay with my fellow Andalites. I would like to speak to my family as soon as possible, Alloran said.

War-Prince Alloran, we have such a device, I blurted.

He turned his face towards me. How? You have broken the law of _Serrow's Kindness_! It can't be! he said, astonished.

"It was the only way to contact the Andalite home world," Jake spoke up. "I think the Andalites wouldn't mind."

I will go with you, then, Alloran said, straightening up. The captain will probably interrogate me for many days. It would be difficult to speak with my family. Yes, I will go with you to Earth.

With that, the war-prince turned and walked towards the docking bay. I followed, along with the rest of the Animorphs and the free Hork-Bajir.


	17. The End: Chapter 17

# Chapter 17-Cassie

The shuttle left the Pool ship, the scene of our final battle. All of us-five kids, two Andalites, and the free Hork-Bajir-were barely able to fit in. It was like a ride on the public bus. There was hardly enough room to breathe. Since Andalites only stand, there were no seats. It was very uncomfortable.

As we flew down, towards Earth's surface, I looked back at the Pool ship. There was a gaping hole somewhere in my soul. I didn't know why, but at that moment, I wondered what I would do for the rest of my life. Since that night in the construction site, we had never lived normal lives. Now that the war was over, what would we do? It wasn't as though we could go back to school. We would be huge heroes, the saviors of the human race. Our lives would never be the same.

"What do we do now?" I asked to no one in particular. It just didn't feel right. I felt an urgency that shouldn't have been present.

Nobody answered. I looked around. Ax was standing with Alloran, and looked preoccupied. Marco was sitting on the floor, twiddling his thumbs. Tobias and Rachel were holding hands, silently looking out the window. Jake was standing, hands on his hips. His eyes were staring at something distant. I knew the look. He was remembering what he had just done, going over his every action, judging his every move.

I felt bad for him. He had Rachel kill Tom, and although it was the only way to win, it didn't seem right. Jake had always wanted Tom to be free. In his worst times, that hope, that dream, is what kept him going. Now, his brother was dead, and his parents still had Yeerks in his head.

We flew down through the Earth's atmosphere. I could see all of North America and South America, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As we got closer, I saw California, the state where we all lived. It was here that the brunt of the war had been fought.

Our town had been decimated. It was a mess. The mall had been destroyed when we blew up the ground-based Yeerk pool. Many buildings had been vaporized by Bug fighters just days ago. Our old homes had been torn down, barely hours after we had evacuated.

The high school we had attended was slightly damaged. Since the Yeerk pool had extended under the school, half of the south wing and the entire east wing had been demolished. Marco might have made a joke about blowing up algebra class, but he, along with everyone else, was in their own world.

Finally, we reached the Hork-Bajir valley. We had lived there since we had to leave our homes. Fortunately, it is very hard to find the valley, and the Yeerks never were able to find us. Although life had not been as luxurious as it had been before, it held us long enough to win the war.

The shuttle landed in a clearing, near the log cabins that we had constructed as living quarters. Everyone's parents were looking up at us, except for Jake's.

His parents had been taken by Tom and made into Controllers before we could rescue them. Since then, Jake had become this dark, mysterious person that none of us knew. I wondered if he would ever be the same.

"Look! There's my mom!" Rachel said, breaking the silence. "You know," she continued, speaking softly, "I never thought I'd see her again. That moment on the Blade ship, staring at you guys, I thought I was gone. But-"

"Talk about it later," Tobias snapped suddenly. He nodded towards Jake. He was looking out the other window, arms crossed. Rachel understood, and didn't say more.

The hatch opened, and we all walked out. I saw my parents, relief washing away the fear that had been on their faces. I ran to them, arms outstretched. For what seemed life forever, the three of us hugged, tears running down our face. The emotions were rushing through me, after I had concentrated on the mission for so long.

"We won, Mom and Dad. We won. It's over. We can go back to our homes," I said.

"That's good, honey," my dad said. "Let's say a prayer."

We held hands and put our heads together. My dad recited a prayer I had heard many times. This time, it meant something to me. I had never paid much attention to prayers. Maybe Rachel being saved rekindled my faith.

"You know, Rachel almost died up there," I said. "She was about to be killed, and suddenly, she was standing next to us."

"It's a miracle," my mother gasped. "See, I told you that your prayers are heard. The Lord does not forget those who pray."

"Yeah. Maybe. Maybe." I couldn't think of anything else to say. I got up and looked around at everyone else.

Tobias and his mom, Loren, were talking. She had amnesia, and didn't remember much about Tobias. Still, there was that special bond between mother and son that can't be broken, no matter what the barriers are. She was crying, thanking God that her son was alive.

Rachel was being touched all over by her mother and two sisters. I'm sure she had told them she had nearly been killed. I guess they had trouble believing in supernatural occurrences. Rachel was crying, something that didn't happen often. Her mother was looking up at the sky in disbelief, shaking her head.

Marco was over with his parents. They were crying as well, listening as their son told his story. Marco's mother had been the former Visser One, so she knew a lot about the war. When Marco told her about Ax killing Visser One, she smiled grimly. I didn't think it was right, but I wasn't in a mood to be Miss Morality, as Marco called me.

Ax and Alloran were working with the Z-space transponder, setting up a transmission with the Andalite home world. No doubt Ax was anxious to speak with his family, as well as Alloran. He had been enslaved for years, and hadn't seen his family at all during those terrible years. There was a glittering look in his eyes, eyes that had been filled with hate when he had been Visser One.

The free Hork-Bajir were busy. They had made a unique structure out of tree limbs and twigs, something that resembled a teepee. Under it, they set a fire. I ambled over to Toby and asked what it was for.

"It is to remember the Hork-Bajir that died in battle today," she replied solemnly. "Each stick represents one of our number that didn't make it back. When the fire consumes it, the smoke that floats up symbolizes their souls, free from their bodies." She choked up. Tears were in her eyes. Her father had died in the battle on the Pool ship.

"Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense," I said incoherently. The fire began to lick at the limbs. I stood there, and watched as the teepee-like structure burned. The smoke floated into the evening sky, away from our little camp.

Something was tugging at me. It felt like someone, or something, was missing. I looked around. Everything seemed alright. Except…

"Where's Jake?" I shouted, above the sounds of crying and talking.

Silence fell over the camp. Marco looked around. "I don't know," he said, concern coming over his face. "Where is he?"

"Jake!" I yelled into the forest. There was no answer.


	18. The End: Chapter 18

# Chapter 18-Jake

I looked around at the expressions of relief and joy on the parents' faces. They were happy that their children had were alive and unhurt. I should have been happy.

But I wasn't. I had already lost my brother that day. I was in no mood to celebrate. There should have been some way, a different plan, that I could have saved Tom. What happened was all my fault, and now I couldn't take it back. It was like a blunder in a chess game.

What could I have done? I said to myself, over and over. Every time I replayed the scenario, I couldn't find another way to save him. Tom had to die. Rather, Tom's Yeerk had to die, but the only way to accomplish that was to kill Tom.

I wanted to see my parents. They had been infested by Yeerks before I could rescue them. Actually, I could have saved them, but I decided to wait another day. One day too late. Another blunder I had made.

I didn't belong here. It was a time for mourning, and I couldn't do that with happiness all around me. I needed to get away from it all, from the war, from the final battle.

Without drawing any attention, I managed to slip away into the woods. I knew I should have told my friends, but then they would want to come. This was something I had to do by myself. I had to tell them, face to face, that I ordered Tom's death. That their oldest child was never coming back home.

I've heard telling parents their children are dead is an awful experience. I would get to find out. I hoped my parents would understand.

As soon as I was out of sight of the camp, I morphed to peregrine falcon. It would be the fastest way to reach my home, if it was still standing. There was this sense of importance racing through me.

I flapped the whole way. There were some nice thermals, but gliding was a waste of time. I didn't want to enjoy anything. I just wanted to get this terrible burden off of my shoulders. It was killing me, shutting my entire mind down. I couldn't think. I couldn't plan.

As I reached the outskirts of the city, where I lived, I saw the immense destruction the Yeerks had wrought on our town. Skyscrapers that had been standing a few days ago were piles of dirt. Car alarms rang throughout the silent city. No people were outside. The air was a dirty brownish color, absorbing most of the sun's rays. 

I saw the block where I used to live. It was mostly unchanged since I had last seen it. There were no signs of life, but I couldn't be sure of that. Yeerks could have been hiding anywhere.

My house seemed empty. Windows were shattered. It seemed like a trap, and I didn't want to get caught in a possible fight in bird morph.

I landed in my backyard, and demorphed as quickly as possible. When I was human, orange and black fur began covering my skin. Tiger morph was my strongest battle morph, and it could move silently. Stealth was what I needed now.

The back door, oddly enough, was open. It was as if someone was expecting me. I walked in, careful not to stumble on anything. No lights were on. It was nearly complete darkness, except my tiger eyes were well-suited to see in the dark.

I made my way upstairs, and checked in my brother's room. An alarm clock kept blinking 12:00. Although Tom never set it, it bothered me. It was creepy.

Next was my room. It had been wiped clean. I guess the Yeerks wanted to check if I had left any clues. My parent's room was empty as well. Nothing. I was about to leave when a picture caught my eye.

It had been taken a few months ago, one of those family portrait pictures. My mom and dad were standing in the back, smiling at the camera. I was faking a smile. I remembered that I had never wanted to go get that picture taken. Tom was there, a grim look set on his face. His eyes were concentrating on something else. Even though he may have been controlled by a Yeerk, it was still Tom's body.

I realized it was the last picture with my whole family. Now, it would be the last picture. No longer would any family portraits contain my brother. He was gone.

"Well, if it isn't Jake the Yeerk-killer," a voice sneered.

My father! I spun around, expecting him to be there, pointing a Dracon beam at me. There was no one.

Motion sensors. That was it. How had I been so stupid? They could be anywhere. I was surrounded by unseen enemies.

But the voice didn't seem to be coming from upstairs. I padded downstairs, claws extended, ready for trouble. I didn't want to hurt my parents. But if they were still Yeerks, I had no choice.

Just like with Tom.

"You're not going to find your parents here," my father's voice said, rage barely contained in his voice. "You want them back? You'll have to find them."

Where are you? I demanded. Show yourself! I was in the kitchen now.

"It's not going to be easy, Jake," my father said, laughing. "Maybe you'll never get them back. Just like you'll never get your brother back."

The insult hit home. I was infuriated. I could feel my anger, my hate, vibrating in the air around me. My mind was prepared to kill. The tiger instincts were taking over.

"Goodbye, Jake." There was a click. It had been a recording.

Why had it been played when I showed up? How had it been so accurate? Surely it was no coincidence. Someone had set-

A flicker of red! I looked to my right. On the living room wall, there was a reflection of something. It was coming from the TV. But the red shadow kept changing shapes. What was it?

Numbers! They were numbers! My mind was racing. Why would there be numbers? Why, why, why…

A bomb! It had to be! It was a deliberate trap, and I was going to be dead in a few seconds.

I flew through the living room, and sailed right through the front window. The glass shattered, cutting me a little, but I didn't care. I had to get as far away as I could possibly be.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW! BOOOOOOOM!

From across the street, I looked back at my home. Or what was left of it. In a second it had been reduced to a pile of dust. A Dracon bomb had utterly vaporized my home.

What was I going to do? My parents could be anywhere. I wouldn't be able to find them alone. I would need help. Although I didn't want to, I would have to enlist my friends' help.

_"Maybe you'll never get them back,"_ the Yeerk had said with my dad's voice. It was true. I might never find them. Their life would be lived out as slaves to an alien race on a faraway planet. It was worse than death.

They'd still be alive, though. There'd always be the chance that I could rescue them somehow. But the way the Yeerk had said it…

Ice flowed through my veins. Even though it was warm outside, I was freezing. It couldn't be. There was no way.

I had lost my brother. I would not lose the rest of my family.

I demorphed and morphed to falcon. Adrenaline was pumping through my whole body. I could hardly believe what was happening. I took off and flapped towards the Hork-Bajir valley.

I hoped this was a dream. This nightmare was getting worse every second.


	19. The End: Chapter 19

Chapter 19-Rachel 

      We had set up search parties to look around the forest for Jake. No one had found anything. That was pretty obvious, because if he was going anywhere, he would morph.

      It was nearly dark. The sun had set, and the stars were beginning to show up in the sky. The search teams would have to come back soon.

      "Where would Jake go?" Cassie began. "I don't think there's any reason why he would just run off."

      Me, Tobias, Marco, and Cassie were all seated around a campfire. The parents and the free Hork-Bajir were off, still searching for Jake. Ax and Alloran were using the Z-space transponder for something.

      "Maybe he was hungry, and wanted to go-" Marco started to say.

      "Shut. Up," I said angrily. "We don't have time for idiotic ideas."

      "But it's a remote possibility," Marco persisted.

      "I don't think so." 

"His parents," Tobias whispered, staring into the flames. "They're Controllers. He went to go see them."

      "That's it!" I declared, standing up. "So why don't we just go over to his house?"

      "Could be a trap," Marco said. Although the kid could be severely annoying, when he used his brain, he was very smart.

      "Yeah. We should stay here and wait for Jake to come back," Cassie said. "There's no need to rush into this."

      "Jake might need help. What if his parents are still Controllers? Two of them with Dracon beams against him aren't good odds," I argued.

      "We're not even sure he's there," Tobias said.

      "You're the one who brought it up, though," I told him.

      "It was a suggestion. It is the most logical place for him to be, but…you can never be sure." He looked up at the stars, coming out in the night sky.

      "Okay, I'm outnumbered. You guys win. So we just sit here and do nothing?"

      "I guess," Cassie answered quietly. I could tell she was worried about Jake.

      I'm the most reckless of the group. I'll jump right into a fight if there's one. I have to add the planning part in afterwards. Everyone assumes I'm brave. A part of me is strong, one that held me through the terrible, horrifying battles we fought. The other part of me is scared, wanting to hide from the horrors we have seen.

      I started walking. Sitting down was making me restless. Tobias got up and ran over to me.

      "Hey, Rachel," he said, slightly out of breath.

      "Hey Tobias," I said back, looking at his face. It had been long past two hours since he morphed. He was trapped in his human body. I'm not sure whether he thought it was a good thing or not.

      "I just tried doing something. It's weird," he said, the faint outline of a smile appearing. "Just watch." With that, orange-yellow fur began sprouting out from his skin.

      "You're morphing? From your human form?" I asked, my mouth open in surprise.

      "Yeah. I don't know why." He reversed the morph, and became fully human. "I can still morph all the animals I acquired."

      "That's cool." I couldn't think of anything else to say. We started walking, towards the fire the Hork-Bajir had built.

      "I was thinking, Rachel," Tobias began, an awkwardness in his voice. "Up on the Pool ship, seeing you on the Blade ship…I was, you know, scared. I mean, I was about to see you die…and then you're on the Pool ship, with us…" His voice trailed off.

      I turned Tobias to face me. "I know. I was scared, too. Everyone is scared when their time comes, I guess. But I got lucky. I'm still here. And I have you, Tobias. You're more important to me than anyone else."

      Tobias looked into the fire, his face flickering with the shadow of the flames. "I was mad at Jake…he never told us where you were, until Cassie asked him. He hid you from us," he said accusingly.

      "Jake did the right thing. He knew that either Cassie or you would have stopped him. And if I had died, you-"

      I stopped talking. Tobias was shaking, remembering what had almost happened. I took his hands and brought him to me.

      "It's okay, Tobias," I said, putting my arms around him. "We really can't think about what could have happened. I'm alive, and that's what counts."

      Tobias pulled back a little. "I never told you, but I probably should have, a long time ago. I…I…" He took a deep breath. "I love you, Rachel," he said, exhaling deeply.

      "I know, Tobias. I love you, too," I answered.

      Tobias took a step forward, and kissed me. It seemed to last forever. For as long as I live, I will never forget that moment. So many emotions were present at the same time, no words could describe it.

      "Excuse me," Marco said, breaking into my bliss. Immediately, Tobias and I both looked at him, innocent looks painted on our faces. Cassie was looking intently on a place on the ground.

      "What do you want?" I demanded, trying to change the topic quickly. I could feel my face turning red. I glanced at Tobias. His face was that of a hawk, an intense stare that could drill holes.

      "The parents and the Hork-Bajir are back. No sign of Jake," Marco said. For a change, he didn't have a snide remark to make. "I'm thinking about changing my mind. Maybe we should look for him."

      "Let's do it!" I said instantly.

      "Look!" Cassie pointed up at the sky.

      An Andalite ship was descending right above us. We all ran to the far side of the camp, waiting for it to land.

      War-Prince Alloran and I called for transport, Ax said, joining us. I hope you find Jake. Right now, I have other duties to attend to. I would stay, except the fleet command wishes to debrief the two of us extensively. Hopefully, we will meet again soon.

      "Later, Ax," Marco called out. Tobias walked up to Ax, and for the longest time, they stared into each other's eyes. In some way or another, they were communicating with each other. They were actually related. Weird, long story.

      The hatch to the ship opened. Alloran and Ax walked inside, and another Andalite came out. I didn't recognize him.

      My name is Glappan-Morrath-Bothir, officer on the Dome ship _SilverBlade_, the Andalite said.

      "Nice to meet you," Marco said.

      Is the human named Jake here?

      "No, he's not here. If you need to tell him something, you can tell us, and we'll tell him as soon as he comes back," Cassie responded.

      I have orders to deliver this message to only Jake, the Andalite thought-spoke sternly. Until he arrives, my orders are to wait.

      "Who's this guy?" my mom asked. The others had joined us.

      "He's an Andalite, Mom," I told her with a sigh. She worried too much. "Don't worry about it."

      A bird rocketed out of the sky and landed in front of us. I recognized the bird as a peregrine falcon. It was Jake, finally back from wherever he had gone. He started demorphing.

      "Where have you been?" Cassie asked quickly.

      I need your help, Jake answered, in midmorph.

      "This Andalite has something he needs to tell you in private," Tobias said.

      Jake didn't say a single thing as he finished demorphing. When he was fully human, he asked, "What is it?"

      We didn't hear anything, because the Andalite was thought-speaking to Jake privately. I watched Jake's face, as it moved from hope, to despair, and finally, to complete sadness. He was crying, something we rarely saw Jake do.

      The Andalite turned and walked slowly back to ship. It rose slowly, and flew off into the distance.

      "What happened?" Marco asked, in a gentle tone I had never heard before.

      "The Andalites, they…got all the codes to the Yeerk ships…from…the Pool ship," Jake said, in between sobs. It was a very depressing scene. I had never seen my cousin like this.

      "Most…of the Yeerk…ships surrendered, but…some of them…fought…back," he continued.

      I saw it. I knew what happened. Jake couldn't have had so much bad luck in a single day. It was impossible.

      "No," I whispered. "No."

      "My parents…were on one of the ships that…that…resisted," he finished, gasping for air.

      "Oh my god," my mom said, her voice choking up. "Steve…it can't be." My mom was close to Jake's dad, her brother-in-law, my uncle.

      "Their ship…fired at the Andalites…and they had to…destroy the ship." Jake shed tears freely now, hands on his face. The war had changed Jake in ways we couldn't see. Now he had lost his entire family.

      "It's okay, buddy," Marco said, wrapping an arm around Jake. "It's okay."

      "WHY IS LIFE SO UNFAIR TO ME?!" Jake yelled out, startling the birds nested nearby. He continued crying.

      Cassie mumbled something under her breath. I couldn't understand what she was saying. I asked her.

      "There may be unseen consequences due to your actions," Cassie repeated. "I've heard that somewhere before, but I'm not quite sure where."

      "You got that right," I replied darkly. I went back to Jake. The parents were comforting him. Tobias was standing, shaking his head in disbelief.

      It was kind of ironic. At the beginning of the war, Jake had a perfect family, while Tobias was all alone. Now, Tobias had his mom back, but Jake had lost his brother and his parents. In a single day, too. Reality can be cruel.

      "Elfangor told me something before he died," Tobias said, looking at Jake's tear-streaked face.

      "What?" Jake looked up, his eyes wet. Never before had he looked so small, so helpless. We were used to seeing a big, responsible leader. But this served as a reminder that we were mere mortals. None of us were superhuman.

      "He told me, 'Go to your friends, Tobias. They are your family now'," Tobias said in a low voice. "During the war, you guys were my family. The only ones I had. Now you're the one who's alone, Jake. We're your friends. We're your family."

      Jake stood up. "Thanks…I really mean it. But right now…I need to be alone." With that, he got up and walked away, into the thick forests around the valley.

      I didn't know if I'd ever see him again.


	20. The End: Chapter 20

# Chapter 20-Jake

I had nowhere to go. I had no place to sleep. There was no grand plan that I had made. I just had to get away from it all.

After I was sure no one was following me, I morphed to bat. It was the best morph for seeing in the dark. I assumed it was near midnight, and if no one was out during the day, surely no one would be out at night.

I went back to my home. What was left of it, actually. I landed in the park a few blocks away and demorphed. The street lights were still working, one of the few things the Yeerks hadn't destroyed.

My home was a big pile of dirt. I searched through everything, and found nothing. My computer, pictures, it was all now reduced to its basic elements. The only thing I had was my memories. This place, where I had lived the first sixteen years of my life, was gone. My family was gone. I was the only one left to carry on my family's legacy.

It must have been the combination of tiredness and utter, complete hopelessness I felt. My legs collapsed under me, and I fell asleep on the remains of my house.

I slept a long time. I dreamt horrible nightmares that I could never talk about. Somehow, I managed not to awake myself, freaked out by the unholy willies.

BOOM! BOOM!

I was instantly awake. It was a clear sky, and the sun was shining brightly. I figured it was near noon.

What was that booming noise? Were the Yeerks attacking again? I struggled to my feet and looked around. Kids were outside, playing games. Everyone seemed to be having a barbecue. Fireworks were being shot into the sky. I sauntered over to one of my neighbors and asked what the celebration was for.

"Don't you know? A few kids and an alien kid beat this whole other alien empire!" my neighbor said excitedly. I didn't know him. He must have been the new guy in town. "I didn't even know there were other aliens out there! They don't look like the ones in _Star Trek_ or _Star Wars_, though." He actually sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, that's good," I absently answered. I had to get out of here. Undoubtedly, news of our victory had gotten out. The secret we had kept for so long was finally public. If they knew our names, I would be found fast.

I didn't possess another human morph. There was nowhere to hide, and I couldn't morph in full view. This was going to get dicey quickly.

"Jake!" One of the adults had recognized me! I had to get out of there instantly. I turned and ran down the street.

"Hey, everybody!" the man yelled. "There's Jake! He's one of the kids that saved the planet!" He started running after me, and about one second after he had identified me, the whole block was running to me.

"Not smooth, Jake," I said to myself. Even though it would get me noticed quickly, I began to change as I ran. Orange-brown hair sprouted from my neck, and my ears began to grow. I was morphing my dog Homer. I wondered where he was.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" a woman yelled. She dropped her bags and ran the other direction. Guess she had never seen a boy changing into a dog.

"There he is! Look, he's changing into a dog!" the man who started the stampede shouted. "Catch him!"

I blew past the people on the sidewalk. But they, too, started after me. It was crazy. Half the town was chasing me.

Now that I was fully dog, I could run faster. My hearing was much better, and I heard music in the distance. It was coming from the park.

That was it. I could lose myself in the crowd. Then I could find an alley to demorph in, and then find a place to stay.

I burst across the street, and into the park. For a brief second, I turned around and looked. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people, were running down the street, straight into the park. It reminded me of a scene from the movie, "The Bachelor". All these people, running after one dog. It might have been comical, except they were catching up. The first people were just starting to cross the street.

I tore through the park and headed straight for the crowd. The charging group of people ran right behind me. My body was tiring. I wouldn't hold out much longer.

The music! My big dog ears picked it up as I weaved in and out of the crowd. It was my favorite group, the Offspring. I had all their CDs. Used to. They were singing "Gone Away". An appropriate song for the way I felt.

I looked back. Yes! The people chasing after me had collided with the music crowd. I had lost them. I wanted to stay and listen to the music, but I knew I couldn't. Sooner or later, I'd be found.

I walked out of the park and into a deserted alley. No homeless guys were in the Dumpster, so I demorphed. As soon as I was human, I looked around and groaned. I had run straight into the bad part of town.

There was a TV shop across the street. I walked in and turned one of the TVs to CNN. I gaped at what I saw. All of my friends, along with Ax, were in the White House, answering questions from reporters. Rachel was taking it in stride, like she did with everything else in life. Marco had this goofy, 'I can't believe I'm in the White House press room!', smile plastered on his face. Tobias had his hawk's look on his face. Cassie seemed to be happy. I couldn't tell.

"Yes, one of our members isn't here," Rachel was saying. "Jake, my cousin, isn't with us right now."

"Can you describe what he looks like?" a nameless reporter called out.

When those words left the reporter's mouth, I dashed out of the shop. I didn't want another mob running after me.

Where was I going to hide? Any place I went, I might be recognized. I didn't want to be found, at least not yet. Barely had I had any time by myself, and I was being pursued by people who wanted to meet me.

I was going to stay at a hotel. I wouldn't enter the normal way, though. In bird morph, I would dive-bomb through a window and spend the night there. I knew it was wrong, but I could have cared less.

Late at night, I found a Holiday Inn. I morphed to falcon and found an empty room. I shot through the window at almost two hundred miles an hour. After a quick demorph, I looked outside. No one had come out. That was good.

I put the 'Do not disturb' sign on the door. I locked all the locks on the door. No need to have people bursting in on me while I was sleeping.

The next morning, I woke up. There was a ladder next to the broken window! I rolled under the bed and held my breath.

Someone climbed into the room. I heard footsteps walking around, and the sound of cabinets opening and shutting. They were searching for the vandal.

My plans had not been working well lately. I had gotten my family killed, and now I was breaking into hotels. You're being stupid, I told myself. Use your instincts, not your mind. The problem was, my instincts were getting me into trouble.

"Nothing in here," a man said. "I don't know what it was. Probably some punk threw a rock. We'll fix it in a few days." The footsteps moved towards the window, and faded as the man went down the ladder.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief and rolled out from under the bed. The rest of the day, I spent watching TV, and keeping a watchful eye on the window.

I watched the eleven o'clock news. A typical newswoman was droning off the headlines when I saw a picture of myself show up. It was a couple of years old, but anyone who saw the picture would know who I was instantly.

"The leader of the Animorphs, sixteen year-old Jake Berenson, is missing. His whereabouts are unknown," the lady said. "During the final battle with the Yeerks, his parents and brother were both killed. Jake's cousin, Rachel, has arranged for the funeral to be held tomorrow. Details will be broadcast here live when they are made available."

I clicked the TV off. Rachel was clever. She knew I would not miss my family's funeral. It would be the only way to come back.

But did I really want to go? I still didn't have time to think about what had transpired the past few days. I was spent, a car without gas. My brain was scrambled. I was not ready for the immense pity that would come forth. Did I need to deal with it?

I spent the whole night thinking.


	21. The End: Chapter 21

# Chapter 21-Tobias

"Are you sure he's going to show up?" I asked Rachel. We were at the funeral for Jake's parents and his brother.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he will," she replied. "He'll feel that it's his responsibility to show up."

The funeral was a private affair. No TV cameras, no photographers were there, although a few of those tabloid reporters were probably hidden somewhere.

Fortunately, it was a beautiful day. No clouds were in sight, and the sun was shining with all of its radiance. The Pacific Ocean's water was sparkling, reflecting the sun's light. The cemetery was overlooking the ocean. All in all, a very nice place to be buried.

For some reason, this place seemed familiar. Except there had been more people, and Jake was here, and…

What was I thinking about? I shook my head clear of those thoughts. I had never been here before. This was the only funeral I had been to.

Most of the people here were Jake's relatives. Some of them were friends of the family, as well as Tom's high school friends. The other Animorphs were here as well. Although I had never met Jake's parents, I'm sure they were nice people. I had never known Tom outside of the time he was a Controller.

Ever been to a funeral? It's a depressing scene. Everyone was dressed in black. Most of the people were either crying or talking about happy memories. I felt out of place, like I didn't belong. My whole body was sweating in the black suit I was wearing. It felt constricting.

_Tobias, you're a human now, not a hawk,_ I told myself.

Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and I were hanging out, away from the other people. Except for Rachel, none of us really didn't belong. We didn't have any happy memories to share. We were invited as a sign of respect, I guess. And to lure Jake back from wherever he was at.

The past couple of days had passed by so quickly. The day after Jake left, we had been picked up Ax's ship and taken to the White House. There, we held a press conference, talking about the war with the Yeerks. We talked about Elfangor, Visser One, everything we remembered. We purposely didn't talk about missions that involved the Chee, because we had promised not to reveal their existence.

Just like that, we had become world heroes. Our story spread around the planet like a wildfire. Never had the entire human race had heroes like us. A few kids and an alien had beat and entire alien empire that was a few centuries ahead in technology. The press ate the story up. They loved it.

I had to readjust to being a human. For more than three years I had lived as a hawk, hunting to eat my food. I was used to having razor vision and having wings to fly around. No longer would I have to hunt my food. Compared to hawk eyes, human eyes are dim, and walking on legs is far slower than flying. I would live in a house instead of in a tree.

The qualities of being human came back to me quicker than I expected. I was able to not wear my hawk stare as much. Facial expressions were still a chore. It was hard, remembering how to smile, how to frown. Hawks don't do those things. It was difficult, trying out the muscles in my face. Besides that, I was pretty much as normal of a human as I would ever be.

"What do we do? Stand here like losers until Jake comes?" Marco inquired, interrupting my thought process.

"No, we're probably going to have to sit through the funeral," Rachel answered.

"Why do you make it sound like a chore?" Cassie said. "Funerals are a place to pay your last respects to the dead. It shouldn't feel like a burden."

"Fine, whatever you want,-" Marco began.

"Shut, up, Marco," I interrupted. Marco looked surprised. "Cassie's right. We're here to honor Jake's family, not to hang out. During the funeral, just sit there and act the part, even if you don't want to."

"Funeral's beginning," Rachel whispered. "Our seats are front row on the left."

I took Rachel's hand, and we walked down to the front row. We were sitting next to Rachel's mom and her two sisters. Rachel's mom was crying, and Jordan and Sarah were trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," I said to Rachel's mom. I couldn't really think of anything else to say. My seat was on the aisle. Rachel sat down next to me.

"I'm not going to be called up to say something, am I?" I asked her. I hadn't prepared anything.

"No, a few relatives will be going up. You didn't really know Jake's family too well, so you're spared," Rachel responded.

The funeral began with the pastor saying a few words about Jake's parents and his brother. How they were churchgoers, followers of their religion, and how they would forever enjoy the afterlife in heaven.

Jake's relatives started coming back and talking about his family. Happy memories were remembered, people started crying. I was embarrassed. I had no reason to be here, but I had to stay. There was no way I could just get up and leave.

Occasionally, I would glance over at Marco and Cassie. Marco seemed to be asleep, but he was awake. Despite his immaturity, Marco was respectful when the situation called for it. Cassie was simply looking ahead, a somber look on her face. She had known Jake's parents, so I guess she knew more about them than I did.

The funeral seemed to pass by quickly. Rachel had a resigned look on her face. "He's not coming," she whispered.

"It's not over yet," I answered back. "He'll come."

More people came up to speak, and finally, the funeral was over. People got up and started conversing with one another. Rachel and I were walking over to Marco and Cassie when someone pointed to the back and shouted, "Look!"

Conversations halted, and everyone turned to the back of the lawn. There was Jake, our brave leader in the war. He was wearing a tuxedo, black pants, a tie, and sunglasses. His hair was perfectly gelled into place. In one of his hands was a bundle of roses, and in the other, a basketball.

Nobody said a word as Jake proceeded up the aisle slowly until he reached his parent's grave. He placed the roses under the tombstone. He then moved over to the headstone marking Tom's grave, and put the basketball next to it.

For the longest time, Jake just knelt there, his hands caressing the remnants of his family. People were weeping. My eyes were beginning to blur with tears. It was too sad to watch. Even Marco, the least emotional of our group, shed a few wet ones.

Finally, Jake got up and walked over to me. He took his sunglasses off. His eyes were red, his face streaked with tears.

"You're right, Tobias," Jake said in a barely audible voice. "You guys are my family now."

"It's okay, Jake. We're here for you." I turned to Rachel, Marco, and Cassie. "We always will be."


	22. The End: Chapter 22

**Chapter 22-Marco (One Year Later)**

My life was wonderful. It was what I had always dreamed of. I guess fighting the war had been worth it. I had done at least twenty appearances on Letterman, Leno, Conan, and Kilborn. The _Today_ show? The _Early Show_? You name it, I've been on it.

The first couple of months after the war ended, we were the biggest celebrities on the whole planet. We, the Animorphs, had more star power than all of Hollywood and Washington, D.C. combined. If I told a joke, it would be front-page headlines. We could have told the Department of Education to ban homework, and they would have done it. The whole world would bend to our will.

Anywhere one of us went, we were mobbed by people. Everyone wanted the autograph of the world hero. I'm sure some of the autographs I've signed sold well on eBay. 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys didn't have as many girl fans as we did.

It made sense, I guess. We were the only world heroes Earth ever had. Everybody loved us. We could do no wrong. And how could nobody be thankful for what we did? The Animorphs had saved the Earth from enslavement. My friends and I were the saviors of the planet.

I had gotten offers from every TV station to do a show. UPN, MTV, even PBS, they all wanted me, Marco the Animorph. I was the center of everyone's attention. They knew I would make their ratings shoot through the roof.

In the end, I took an offer from CBS to work as a writer on Letterman's show. Dave is one of the few people that appreciates my jokes. I wrote most of the 'Top Ten' lists, and I got to work often on the 'Stupid Pet Tricks' segment as well. It was awesome. Every time Dave introduced me to the crowd, I got more applause than a rock star.

The first month I worked on Letterman, ratings went up fifty percent. We whipped Leno so bad, they begged me to come work for NBC. No luck for them. Too bad.

I also wrote a book. All of us did, actually. Mine was called _The Joker Who Saved The World_. The cover was cool. I was in gorilla morph, wearing a jester's cap. It was number two on every list, which was pretty good for me. I never did well in English class.

Tons of companies wanted me for their advertisements. I did ads for Hertz, McDonalds, and more. That made me millions more. We all did a 'Got Milk?' ad. That was the best one by far. It confirmed our status as superstars.

I was a multimillionaire, and I wanted to give back. I gave ten million dollars to various charities. My parents, who had worked so hard to give me everything I had, got a new beach house in Malibu as a birthday present. Nothing can describe the look on Mom's face when she saw it. I also bought both of them cars of their choice.

I lived in my own personal Xanadu, a beautiful piece of beachfront property. There were seven bedrooms, a ballroom, a huge pool, a mini-golf course, and a waterfall. Sure, it cost me an arm and a leg, but I had money now.

Dad, even though he didn't have to work, got a job with NASA at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. He was the chief Z-space expert, and was paid a hefty salary himself. Mom was a social worker, helping out disabled kids. She wrote a book about her years as a slave to the former Visser One. It was in the top ten on the charts.

The best part about the fame was the chicks. Hot girls that wouldn't have even given me a look before were now hanging off of my arms. I could ask any girl for a date and get it. I was a babe magnet.

A movie was made about us. It was called _Animorphs_, the same name I had come up with so many years ago, talking to Jake on the bus. We were all technical advisors to George Lucas, who was directing the movie. During the shooting, we got to take a tour of Skywalker Ranch, and we also saw how he did all of his awesome special effects. When the movie finally came out, it was the top box office movie for four months straight. It grossed more than Titanic and all the Star Wars movies combined. I sent most of the proceeds to charity.

Cassie was immediately offered a job by the President. She became the first Secretary of Alien Affairs. At sixteen, she was the youngest person to ever be in a President's cabinet. Finally, teenagers had a voice in the White House. She managed to take college courses and became a licensed veterinarian as well. The girl is amazing.

Some things I don't understand about her, though. L.L. Bean and Eagle Creek begged her to do ads for a million bucks each. Every time, she'd say she was busy checking up on the free Hork-Bajir or something. Who would turn down a million dollars to push some jeans? I know I wouldn't.

But Cassie was happy, and I was happy for her. I had no qualms about what I was doing, making loads of cash everyday. As long as I was happy, that's all that mattered. If people didn't like it, too bad for them. I gave back to the community. It wasn't like I was Scrooge, counting my money night after night.

Tobias was a professor of ornithology-the study of birds-at UCLA. He did live as a bird for three years, so he knew a lot about birds. Probably could rattle off all the bones in a bird's wing.

I couldn't call him Bird-boy anymore, which was slightly disappointing. He had gotten used to being a human fast. If you walked up to him today, you couldn't tell he had been a bird for so long. No longer was the eternally fierce stare of a hawk stuck on his face. He could smile, laugh, frown, just like any normal person.

When we started fighting the war, I barely knew him. I poked a lot of fun at him, especially after he was trapped as a hawk. Now, when I look back, I'm kind of sorry about what I did. He was a kid who had no family to begin with, and then he was trapped as an animal. I would have given up hope a long time ago. Tobias has a really powerful will, and that's what kept him alive, even through all things he's been through.

Tobias bought his mother, Loren, a nice house. She started her own crisis center, and now helped people who were about to commit suicide and do crazy things like that. I visited her sometimes. She's one of the nicest people I have ever met. Just being around her makes you feel good. Before we met her, she was blind from a car crash, and had terrible scars as well. Her sight was restored when she got the morphing power, and the scars disappeared. Tobias is lucky. He has a wonderful, beautiful woman as his mother.

Rachel could have chosen anything and done well in it. That's the type of person she is. Anyways, she decided to go into the fashion business. Rachel wasn't a model, she wouldn't like having to wear her hair so short anyways. She started her own clothes line, simply called _Rachel_. Kind of like Michael Jordan's clothes line. All of her clothes were original designs.

The first month on sale, _Rachel_ apparel outsold all major fashion designers _combined_. She nearly put all of them out of business. Donatella Versace and Ralph Lauren literally were begging her to do something else. Naturally, she refused. No one shook the fashion world as much as Rachel did.

Who knows why her clothes sold as much as they did. I didn't see anything all that special about them. My philosophy is, if you can wear it, that's all you need. I guess people wanted to wear the same kind of clothes the Animorphs did. The whole world knew about how Rachel was miraculously saved from the Blade ship. She was called the Miracle Girl. Maybe people thought miracles would happen if they wore her clothes.

Whatever it was, Rachel was a multibillionaire instantly. She had more money than me, which annoyed me slightly. Even though we were good friends, we were intensely competitive. Every month, we compared our income. She, of course, always had more.

As a result of Rachel's fame, Rachel's mom became a well-known lawyer. She started her own firm, and now made a high six-digit income. The only times I had met her, she was always arguing about something. I guess that's what makes a good lawyer.

Rachel and Tobias had this awesome mansion in Hollywood, bigger than mine. They were the ultimate power couple, bigger than Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were. Everywhere they went, paparazzi photographers were always at their destination. Their book, _Bird-boy and Xena: The Odd Couple_, was number one on every list, barely beating me out. The world loved the story of a girl dating a boy trapped as a different species. It was like _Beauty and the Beast_, except the story was real.

Ax was a huge hero back on the Andalite home world. After years of being overshadowed by Elfangor, he finally stepped out on his own. He currently was commander of the Andalite space fleet, chief ambassador to Earth, and a million honorary titles the Andalites had bestowed on him. He was Aximili of Earth, Aximili the Yeerk-killer, the Great Aximili, and much more. I didn't even know it was possible to have so many nicknames.

Ax-man led the Andalite attack against the Yeerk home world. Our victory on Earth had decimated the majority of the Yeerk fleet. The Andalites incinerated the Yeerk planet, destroying the Council of Thirteen and the rest of the Yeerks on the planet. Next, they went to the Hork-Bajir world and destroyed the Yeerk establishments. The Taxxons surrendered when the Andalites agreed to give them the morphing power. In a few months, the Yeerk Empire was nothing but a small memory.

I was disturbed about the Andalites' method of destruction against the Yeerks. Yeah, the Yeerks had caused a lot of people trouble, but did that mean their planet had to be fried? I didn't think about it too much. We beat the Yeerks on Earth. The Andalites could deal with the other Yeerks the way they liked. Wasn't our problem.

Ax worked out a deal with some of the major corporations to transfer some Andalite technology to us lowly humans. The Andalites didn't want us to be technologically equal, which made sense. But the software these days are killer. Computers come with holographic projectors, and games can be played in 3D. Tomb Raider got a lot better than it used to be.

The Andalites wouldn't give us any weapons technology, period. As for space technology, they gave us the designs for Z-space engines. In a few years, NASA would be launching the first Z-space-capable spacecraft. Look out, universe. Mankind's bringing a Mickey D's to a galaxy near you.

My pal Jake, well, he always had a serious, silent side to him. Ever since his family's funeral, he had been different for some time. He would hang out in his apartment, only going out to get food. His skin had turned a pale white from the lack of sunlight, and he looked frail and unhealthy. I worried about him.

Eventually, he pulled out of his funk. He got to meet his favorite band, the Offspring, and got personal guitar lessons from their guitar player. After meeting a few other people who could play, he formed a band, called _The Givers_. Jake was the lead vocals and guitar. Most of his songs were depressing, sad, grungy songs about life and death. Still, people loved the music. Their first album, _War and Peace_, went multiplatinum the day it was released. It was number one on Billboard for six months.

Going on tour brought the old Jake, my best friend, back to life. Seeing the adulation from the crowds made him realize that there were people out there that cared for him. We started hanging out again, and he bought himself a house on the beach, a five-minute walk from my place.

Jake didn't write a book. I think he wanted to keep his thoughts about the war to himself. It was the right thing to do. Reopening that chapter of his life would have brought all the pain back. He spoke through his songs. That was good enough.

I never really figured out what happened between him and Cassie. I knew Jake loved Cassie, and Cassie loved Jake. But near the end, they had been torn apart. Now, it was like trying to put two magnets together. It wouldn't happen. It's not like they hate each other. They still speak on friendly terms, laugh at each other's jokes. But the romance that was there vanished. They both act like what happened during the war never occurred at all. I tried to convince Jake to get back together with Cassie. But he says he'll think about it, and never does anything.

The free Hork-Bajir continued to live in the valley where they had originally lived. The valley, along with the surrounding area, was designated a National Park by Cassie and the Interior Department. Toby was governor of the Hork-Bajir colony on Earth. Some of the Hork-Bajir returned to the decimated Hork-Bajir world. I didn't hear much about it.

The part of our high school that was blown up was rebuilt. Statues of each Animorphs' likeness were built in front of the school. We were worshipped at that building. Any seat we had sat in was revered, like an artifact in a museum.

Chapman was still vice principal. I heard from some of my old friends at school that he was a much nicer guy than he used to be. The Yeerk in his head must have made him act like a strict guy. Too bad he couldn't have been nice while I still went to school. He busted me way too many times for being late to class.

Anyways, life was good for the Animorphs. We regularly got together at someone's house and hung out. Sometimes we went to the mall and chilled in the food court. A whole security detail would followed us everywhere. Couldn't have the superheroes getting hurt. It was a scene.

During the war, we sometimes talked about being together after the war. It was wishful thinking at the time, because we were slowly losing the war. But in the end, even though the Yeerks won most of the battles, they lost the war. Our dreams had become reality. And when I was relaxing with my friends, sipping on shakes and sodas, life didn't get much better than that.


	23. The End: Chapter 23

# Chapter 23-Tobias

"See you on Monday, Professor," a student said to me as he left the room.

"Have a good weekend, James," I told the departing student. Another week gone. I wiped the sweat away from my face, and continued to grade the midterms.

I taught ornithology at UCLA. Although Rachel made plenty of money to support both of us, I didn't want to make her feel like I was living off of her money. Besides, if I didn't do anything, I'd get bored. As I had lived as a hawk for three years, I was an expert on birds. It made sense.

Most of my students were older than me. They had graduated high school, and paid good money to come to this college. I had never finished high school. It was a joke, having my students calling me 'Professor'. I guess they had to call me something.

Another test finished. Only a few more left to grade. I always thought taking tests were hard. Grading them are much harder, as well as annoying. I looked up at Fred, the head of my Secret Service detail. "It'll be a few more minutes," I said for what felt like the millionth time.

"No rush, sir," Fred replied, a blank expression on his face.

When our story got out, the President gave each Animorph a lifetime Secret Service detail. I didn't like the fact that I was being trailed wherever I went. Better to be safe than sorry, though. We had all become terrorist targets. It was good to have protection. Our morphing powers wouldn't get us out of every situation.

I wondered if the Secret Service guys ever smiled. Every time I looked at Fred, he'd have this super-serious look on. Maybe work wasn't fun for them.

I put the test papers into my briefcase. It was the weekend, and I would have time to grade them. I stood up and walked to the door. "Let's go," I said to the silent Secret Service agent.

I walked to the faculty garage and got into my car. It was a beautiful red Ford Mustang, with leather seats and all sorts of other goodies, half of which I didn't know how to use. The car was a present from the local dealership.

Driving wasn't hard. I easily passed the driving test for my license when I was almost seventeen. Since I had become adjusted to my human body quickly, there were no coordination problems. It was like a dream come true. Everyone teenager wants to drive. I was no different.

As I turned out of the garage, two black Chevy Suburbans joined me, one in front of me, and one in back. They were escorting me to my home, a half-hour drive away.

_What are you going to do?_ I asked myself as I turned on the radio. "War and Peace," Jake's biggest hit, blasted through my speakers. He sang pretty well, and wasn't bad playing guitar, considering he had only played for a little less than a year.

I picked up my cell phone and called Fred. "We're going to Marco's place," I yelled over the noise of passing cars.

"Roger that," came the reply, plagued with static. I disconnected and went back to thinking.

Seventeen. Maybe I should wait another year or so. It was pretty young. Technically, we weren't even adults yet. But, I didn't want to waste time. Plus, more importantly, I didn't want to lose her. She was the light of my life.

I was going to do it, tonight. I picked up my cell phone and called Rachel's business number. Three rings, no answer.

"Come on, pick up." My hands were shaking, for some reason. What was there to be nervous about?

"_Rachel_ apparel, Dana speaking," a female voice I recognized as Rachel's secretary answered. "May I help you?"

"Um, yeah, this is Tobias. Is Rachel there?" I asked, my whole body about to break out and twitch crazily.

"Hold one moment, please."

_Calm down, Tobias,_ I thought. _What's there to worry about?_

"Tobias?"

"Hey," I said candidly, doing my best to conceal my jumpiness. "Can you meet me at the pier for dinner?"

"Sure," Rachel responded. I could hear her writing something down. "I'll be there at seven, if you don't mind. Work's a little busy today."

"Fine by me." My whole body relaxed. "Love you."

"Bye, Tobias." A click, and the line went dead.

I could have screamed "YESSSSSS!" at the top of my lungs at that moment, I was that happy. But I hadn't even done the big part yet, and I was celebrating.

_Don't count your chicks before they hatch._

I exited off the freeway. Marco's house was only a mile away, a visible spectacle from where I was. It looked like a palace.

I called Fred again. "You guys can hang out in front of his place. Marco's detail will cover me."

"Of course, sir," Fred's monotonous voice replied. I hung up. I knew they'd watch me somehow. Probably get a helicopter in the air or something. They were way too paranoid about something bad happening.

"So were you, Tobias," I mumbled. I drove up to the gate of Marco's mansion. A security guard came up to me. "Identification, please," he said in a lilting Southern accent.

"I'm Tobias. Those people are the Secret Service. They'll just hang out while I go in," I told the guy, with a sigh of exasperation for good measure.

"Go ahead." The gates were opened, and I parked in front of the main entrance.

"Well, if it isn't the Professor," Marco cracked. He had seen me coming, and was already out to greet me. Even though we hadn't been real close during the war, we were good friends now.

"Good to see you, Marco," I replied. "I came to ask you for some help."

"Help? From me?" Marco's eyes went wide. "How could I possibly be of any help to the Professor? I didn't graduate high school. I regularly failed my algebra tests. My grammar is as good as the average Hork-Bajir's. Even a-"

"Seriously. Mind if we go inside?" I asked, interrupting Marco's humorous tirade.

"Sure. It's way too hot for this time of year." We walked inside. The halls were adorned with expensive paintings. The floors were covered with clean Persian rugs. Marco probably bought new carpets every few days. He could afford it. I sat down in an overstuffed chair in the living room, in front of the fireplace.

"Want anything to drink?" Marco called from the kitchen.

"I'm fine."

Marco walked out with a can of Coke in his hand. "You know they pay me two million bucks just to drink this stuff?" he said with a silly grin. He flopped out on a leather couch.

"I need some advice," I said. I told him what I was thinking.

"Are you sure about this, Tobias?" Marco inquired, serious now. "I mean, Macauley Caulkin did it when he was seventeen, too. Look at what happened."

"I know. But what if I screw up in the future?"

"You can't predict what could happen." Marco took a sip of his drink. "Go with the flow, man. Follow your gut instincts. I'm not really the guy to ask, but I say go for it. Take the chance. It's like that Bon Jovi song, 'It's My Life'. It's your life, and it's now or never." He frowned. "Well, maybe not never. But you get the point."

"Yeah, you're right." I ruffled my hair a little. "Hey, can you come along, maybe in fly morph or something?"

Marco made a face. "Why? So I can witness the moment?"

"No, just in case I need some help. You're good with the smooth comments."

"Ah, finally, someone who appreciates my talents!" Marco said in a fake grandiose voice. "No problem, man. I'll help you out, just in case you get tongue-tied."

"Cool. Let's head to the store. I need your expertise there as well." I got up and headed for the door. Marco caught up to me.

"The Professor really needs some help. Maybe you should read more of those self-help guides," he joked. "Let's go."


	24. The End: Chapter 24

# Chapter 24-Rachel

I sped along the highway in my Jaguar, tailed by the Secret Service. It was annoying that I was being followed everywhere. There was no privacy. They probably had bugged my car and my house. It was like 'Big Brother'. Other people listened in on your life.

What did Tobias need? It was a big day at work, and I told everyone I'd be back in an hour. I was praying dinner wouldn't be too long. There were more important things to do. And anyways, I wasn't too hungry.

I took an exit and made a right. The pier was straight ahead. It looked dark and deserted, except for the street lights. I couldn't see Tobias from here. Why would anyone eat dinner at the pier? There were better restaurants in the city.

I came to the end of the road. A red Mustang was a little ways to the left, and I figured it was Tobias'. I floored my car and raced up to the dock. There was a ferry, or some kind of boat there. Tobias must be inside.

Secret Service agents started pouring out of their black SUVs. "You guys don't need to come in," I told Laura, the head of my detail.

"Yes, ma'am," Laura replied blandly. I knew she would send a helicopter up to watch the ship. It wasn't even worth trying to ditch them. They would always find a way to track me. Even now, one of the agents was on the phone. These people were eternally prepared for any situation.

I climbed up the walkway, onto the ferry. Tobias was waiting, dressed up in very formal attire. A smile was on his face. He seemed nervous, for some reason. I looked around. There wasn't anything to be worried about.

"Something wrong?" I asked, perhaps a little too harshly.

"No, it's just…" Tobias' head cocked back for a second, like he was listening to someone. "You're beautiful."

I relaxed. "That's like the thousandth time you've said that today."

"Well, it's true."

"Thanks for the compliment." This conversation was way too stilted. Tobias shifted his hands in his pockets.

"How about we go up to the top deck? That's where dinner is being served."

"It's a little chilly outside, though."

"If you could withstand Taxxons and Hork-Bajir, I'm sure you can survive a little cold air," Tobias said with a laugh. I was surprised. That didn't sound like Tobias at all. More like someone else I knew…

"Fine, whatever. Let's go." I went to the stairs and climbed up to the top. The boat was already moving out to open water. Tobias joined me at the top. A table was set up, with candles lit and two places set.

"Won't the candles be blown out by the wind?" I wondered.

"We've already stopped," Tobias answered, waving his arm. We had only gone out about half a mile. I could still make out the dock. "Besides, it's not that windy of a night."

I looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, and all the stars were glittering. Somewhere up there, the Secret Service was watching me, looking at my every action.

"Why don't we sit down and eat?" Tobias said, a trace of anxiety present in his voice.

"Good question. Why don't we?" I sat down in a plush chair, across from Tobias. I could barely see him, except for when the candle's light passed over him.

A waiter dressed in a cheap-looking suit came out and served food. Steak, potatoes, and corn. Not my favorite, but at least it wasn't shrimp or something like that. I was too used to eating expensive food.

We ate slowly and silently. Tobias looked preoccupied, and I wasn't in much of a mood to talk. I glanced at my watch. Nearly seven thirty. I would have to be back to the dock in fifteen minutes if I were to get back to work on time.

"Food good?" Tobias asked in between mouthfuls.

"Yeah, it's okay." I sighed. "Is there any reason why we're out here, getting frozen?"

"What's the rush? Relax, there's no hurry."

"Tobias, I have to be back to work by eight. I didn't think dinner would take to long."

"Shut up," Tobias muttered.

"You talking to me?" I challenged. What had I done wrong? I tried to read Tobias' face for an expression. He looked…well, he looked scared. Of what, though? That I would be mad at him? There was no way I could ever be mad at Tobias.

"No, I was talking to myself," Tobias said, no hint of humor in his voice.

"What's wrong with you?" I inquired. Tobias was acting very strangely, in a way I had never seen before.

"Well, I mean, you know," Tobias began, babbling. He was very nervous. "You know, like, I love you, you know?"

"Yes…" I wondered where this was leading. "And I love you too, Tobias. We both know that."

"Yeah…" Tobias looked at the skyline of the city, and took a deep breath. "I guess I have been beating around the bush a little. The real reason we're taking this boat ride is not to have a nice dinner."

"Obviously. Even I could tell that much. The food wasn't that good," I said with a small laugh. It sounded more like a squeak. The air around us was vibrating with tension. What was there to be tense about. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. That didn't help.

For what seemed like a whole year, me and Tobias just sat there, staring into each other's eyes. I knew him so well, and yet, I had no idea what he was doing. Some aspects of Tobias were mysterious, just like his past had been.

"I love you, Rachel," Tobias said, his voice so low I could barely make out the words.

"Yeah, we've established that point." I ran my hands through my hair. I waited for Tobias to continue.

"I'll never stop loving you, for as long as I live, you know that," Tobias said, speaking each word with deliberateness. "You were there for me when no one else was. I could lean on you for support."

He stood up and walked to my side. My whole body was tingling. This situation seemed so familiar, like I had seen it on TV before.

"I guess I could have waited longer, but I didn't want to. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So…" He got down on one knee and reached into his suit pocket.

"Oh, my god…" He was proposing! Never in my life had I been caught off guard so badly. What was I going to do? I wished Cassie was around, so I could ask her advice. But I was alone.

"Will you marry me?" Tobias asked softly, opening a little box. It held a ring, with one of the biggest diamonds I had seen. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open.

"Of course," I whispered without a single thought. "Yes, I will."

Tobias took the ring out and fitted in onto my left ring finger. He looked up at me and smiled. He got up and hugged me. It was the happiest moment of my life.

"May I be the first to congratulate you?" Marco! I turned and saw him, holding a bottle of champagne.

"How'd you get here?" I demanded. This was a private moment, and I didn't want Marco ruining it.

"Magic, of course. Do you think I don't morph anymore?"

"How'd you know?"

"Your fiancé, Tobias, confided with me," Marco said with a smirk.

"How could you tell Marco, of all people?" I said, feigning horror.

"I thought maybe he could help me out, with, you know," Tobias said, laughter setting in. "He was no help."

"Hey! I'll get you for that!" With that, Marco uncorked the bottle. He poured three glasses, and lifted his up. "To Tobias and Rachel, my sincere congratulations."

"Yeah right, sincere," I giggled, lifting my glass up. I was swooning with happiness. "Cheers."

The three of us toasted, and we relaxed, joking and telling stories from a past that seemed so distant. It was a wonderful time. And we didn't make it back to the pier until ten.


	25. The End: Chapter 25

# Chapter 25-Aximili

"Thank you for inviting me to this ceremony," I told Tobias.

"No problem, Ax-man. I would have invited you anyways. We're family." Tobias was dressed in a black jacket, black pants, and black shoes. I am told this is the proper attire for this certain ceremony. I was in my human morph, and was wearing similar clothes to Tobias.

We were in the meadow, behind Rachel and Tobias' house. This was where the ceremony was taking place. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was a deep blue color, and no clouds were in sight. By human standards, this was a beautiful day.

"You and Rachel are now mates?" I said. I was 'making conversation', a skill I had long ago perfected with Tobias.

"I guess you could say that. Don't say that to anyone else here. Especially to the people outside." He gestured his arm towards the front of his house. Many humans were lined up, trying to push their way in. Human security forces were holding them back.

"I am your _shorm_, Tobias. You can trust me."

Tobias laughed. "Of course I can."

We stood there and looked at the humans. Some of them held up signs. Others were screaming, and some were taking pictures with cameras. It appeared to be chaotic.

"So, how is the big hero doing?" Marco came up and patted Tobias and I on our backs. Characters from the TV show 'The Sopranos' did this often. I wondered if Marco was part of a group called the 'Mafia'.

"I am fine, Marco. How have you been?" I asked.

"Hanging out, the usual, you know? Checking out the babes, signing some autographs, getting my picture taken. It's all cool."

"Just don't talk to the people too much," Tobias said darkly. "One of them might be a tabloid reporter, and if you say something stupid, your secret will be out."

Marco looked shocked. "That's not good. I think I told a couple of bad jokes out there. My stupidity is now public knowledge! I have disgraced myself!" His voice raised higher with every sentence.

Tobias and Marco broke down into laughter. I understood this to be human humor. A very un-Andalite quality.

"I have not seen Rachel today," I said, picking up the conversation. "Are you sure she will be here?"

"She's here, somewhere," Marco replied. "Putting on all the makeup, getting the dress on, the normal things the bride does."

"You know this from personal experience, I presume?" Tobias retorted.

"Shhh! You weren't supposed to know that!" Marco laughed at his own wit.

Cassie walked up to us. She was wearing a shining white dress. "Hey, Marco and Ax. How's the groom?" she said with a grin, revealing rows of perfect white teeth.

Tobias shrugged. "A little nervous, a little happy, a little scared. I guess it's normal."

"Don't worry about it. You'll be just fine." She looked at me. "How have you been, Ax?"

"I have been fine. This is the first time I have been to Earth for a few of your months. It is quite-"

"Ax, they're everyone's months, not just our months," Marco interrupted.

"Marco, the Andalite calendar is different from your calendar. Therefore, an Andalite month would be different from one of your months." I put emphasis on the word 'your'.

"You never told me that. Anyways, I'm going to go talk to Jake." He walked towards the house.

"How is she?" Tobias asked Cassie.

"Rachel? She's fine. Looks as beautiful as ever," Cassie said. "You're lucky, Tobias. You really are."

Tobias sighed. "You know how many times I've heard that? Way too many. But, thanks anyways."

"Tobias," I said, curiosity seeping into my mind. "I am the best man, and Cassie is the best lady. Does that we are the best at something?"

Cassie smiled. "No, Ax. The groom picks his best friend to be his best man. The bride picks her best friend to be her best lady."

"Ah, so we are their best friends. That makes sense."

"Wedding's about to start," Tobias whispered. "Let's go."

The other people started sitting down in their chairs. Tobias, Cassie, and I went up to the front. Although it was silent now, I could still hear the humans outside of the house making noise.

"What do we do?" I whispered to Tobias.

"Just stand there. You don't need to do anything."

A man, playing a human musical instrument called an 'organ' began playing a melody I had heard once before. Everyone rose, and looked towards the back of the aisle.

Rachel's father was holding Rachel's arm, walking slowly towards us. He had been on the 'East Coast' during the final battle, far away from the hostilities. Now he was a news anchor on the channel 'CNN'.

Rachel herself looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. She was wearing a white dress that trailed behind her for about two feet. A veil covered her face. Her dress had many pearls on it. I had never seen a piece of human clothing that looked so…stunning.

They reached the front, and Rachel's father whispered a few words to Tobias. Then he sat down, and Rachel stepped up, next to Cassie.

The pastor began a speech. It sounded like a philosophical writing an Andalite might have done. I had never thought humans could ever be so logical. Not for the first time, I had underestimated the human race.

"Could the ringbearer come forward, please?" the pastor said.

Jake, my former prince, walked up to where we were standing. He was holding a pillow, containing two rings. One was a band made of gold, with a stripe of black coral covering the gold. The other was a gold band as well, with a ruby heart, outlined with tiny diamonds. Both were fine pieces of human artwork.

"How sweet!" a voice called out snidely. "Who would have thought that this would ever come to pass!"

I spun around, as humans must to look behind them. Standing a few feet away, with a smirk on his face, was the Drode. Crayak's 'right-hand man'.

I glanced at the other people attending. Their faces were frozen, eyes that would not move until Crayak wanted them to.

The Drode didn't visit unless it was important. And in my human body, I would be defenseless against any attack.

Slowly, I began to demorph.


	26. The End: Chapter 26

# Chapter 26-Cassie

"You're screwing up the best day of my life!" Rachel screamed at the ugly creature in front of us. "Do you take some kind of pleasure in messing up our lives?"

SNAP! SNAP!

Ax's tuxedo and pants snapped as he continued to demorph.

The Drode raised his hands. "Calm down. I'm not delivering any bad news, no speech." He turned to Rachel. "Don't you look beautiful. Still as malevolent as ever."

Rachel just glared.

Why was the Drode here? We hadn't heard from the Ellimist, much lest the Drode, since the end of the war. Even though he said he wasn't here to deliver bad news, I didn't trust him. Something didn't feel right.

"Any reason why you have to show up?" Marco piped up. "I mean, I'm enjoying myself here, and now you show up. Just the mere fact that I have to look at you ruins my whole day."

The Drode walked up to Rachel. "Ever wonder what it's like to be dead? To not be here on this planet, full of life?" He snickered. "This planet Crayak would have exterminated sixty million years ago, if that meddling Ellimist hadn't been around."

Rachel raised her fist, but by the time she swung, the Drode was staring at Jake.

"You want to know why your parents are gone, Jake the mighty Yeerk-killer? It was no accident that they happened to be on a shipful of hostile Yeerks."

"Don't say another thing about my parents," Jake said through clenched teeth. Flashes of orange and black kept wavering on his skin. Jake was barely controlling himself from morphing to tiger.

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you, but I will, anyways. It was…" The Drode raised his voice. "CASSIE!" he cried, pointing a stubby finger at me.

All eyes turned to me. Jake looked shocked. My knees were weakening. Such a false accusation, and Jake thought I did it! "No!" I cried out, having to say something. "Rachel, Tobias, Marco, I was with you the whole time, looking for Jake, right?"

"Yeah, she was, Drode," Marco said. I blew out a sigh of relief. "Nice try, but not quite."

"Do you think that your life is wonderful?" the Drode said in a low voice. "Do you think that everything could have possibly worked out as well as it has?"

"We were lucky in the war. Who says it can't spill over?" Marco opined.

"No. The dice never landed on seven. The cards weren't stacked in your favor. This past year, right up to the moment where Rachel 'miraculously was saved," the Drode said, waving his arms, "was preordained. By Cassie." He smugly crossed his arms.

"News flash: Cassie's God!" Marco.

"Not the time, Marco," Tobias said, speaking for the first time.

"Rachel, you never were saved. The Yeerk killed you. The remaining Animorphs negotiated a truce with the Andalites. Your parents were still alive, Jake," the Drode said mockingly. "Tobias, without your vicious girlfriend to be your companion, you ran away to a park named Yellowstone. Lived your days out as a hawk. Not too different from the years during the war."

"I don't want to hear anymore," Jake shouted out.

"Three years passed after your victory," Crayak's minion droned on, ignoring Jake's request. "Your pet Andalite was captured by the Yeerks on the Blade ship and assimilated into 'The One'."

"The who?" I blurted out.

"It's a long story, but I'll make it short. Like me, he's an associate of Crayak's. In the other timeline, Crayak seeded him onto the Blade ship, shortly after the war ended. Once there, he controlled the Yeerks and their hosts. He traveled across the galaxy, assimilating various aliens and technologies into his being. But what he craved most was an Andalite. And when he captured Aximili and his docking crew, The One assimilated you, Aximili, in front of your horrified comrades." The Drode giggled. "Then he killed them, one by one, torturing them to the end."

FWAAP!

Ax's tail flew at the Drode. No use, though. The blade cleaved through empty air.

"Somehow, the Andalites got news of this and told Jake. Always playing the heroic rescuer, he brought back lonely Tobias and spoiled Marco to go after Ax."

"Spoiled? Nobody calls me-"

"Jake left you behind, Cassie, to protect what was here on Earth." The Drode waddled over to me. "Actually, he didn't think you were good enough," he whispered in my ear.

I rolled my eyes. "Quit beating around the bush."

"They found the Blade ship about six months later. It was quite a showdown. You know how it ended? Suicide. With your stolen Yeerk ship, you rammed the Blade ship. Jake, Marco, and Tobias, it was fun to watch you suffocate to death in the vacuum of space!

"The Ellimist tells Cassie what happened to the others. And in the midst of his utterly pathetic speech, he drops a hint. He revealed the secret of the Time Matrix to her."

"Oh, my god…" It was all coming back to me now. Engaged to Ronnie, digging a hole in the construction site…

"She used it to blackmail the mighty Crayak and the Ellimist! Said she'd go back in time and kill both of them if Rachel wasn't saved."

"I had my own TV show…" Marco's voice trailed off.

"What does that have to do with my parents?" Jake demanded.

"Ah, yes, of course," the Drode said gleefully. "My master and the Ellimist agreed to do this, but with one condition: that Crayak would be allowed to alter space-time in any one way he wished."

"That wasn't one of the conditions!" I strained to recall that time. It was such a long time ago, in a completely different situation.

"You don't remember? 'There may be some unseen consequences due to your actions'? Ring a bell? You said you'd take your chances."

I put my face in my hands. "No…" How could I have not seen that? Had I been that selfish, to want my friends back so badly that I would doom somebody else's life?

"Well, I'm sorry to have interrupted." A watch appeared on the Drode's wrist. "I really must be going now." He gave a wicked grin to Rachel. "Rachel, you know how to dial up Crayak."

"Go to-"


	27. The End: Chapter 27

# Chapter 27-Jake

The pastor was saying something about how life was to be shared. It was making me fall asleep.

My head snapped up, full of knowledge of what could have been, would have been.

My parents. They would still be alive. I would have bought them a nice house. I was a professor at some Army base, teaching soldiers how to control animal instincts while in morph. Rachel, dead. Tobias, living as a hawk, hating me for getting Rachel killed. Cassie, some government bigshot, dating a guy named Ronnie. Marco, a celebrity with a TV show and a huge mansion.

My death. Suffocating in the middle of nowhere, my eyes bulging out, my skin turning blue. Talking with Elfangor and Rachel, warriors who had died long before I had. Watching Cassie find the Time Matrix, and watching her blackmail Crayak and the Ellimist, saving Rachel, and dooming my parents.

How had I missed that? 'There may be unseen consequences due to your actions'. That should have been a red light. Maybe I had grown stupid in that timeline.

"Could the ringbearer come forward, please?" the pastor announced, shaking me out of my thoughts.

I got up and walked stiffly to the front, holding the pillow with the rings on them. My hands were shaking. The rings fell off. A sigh of shock came from the crowd.

"Great," I muttered. I bent down and found the rings, easily enough. There was a collective sigh of relief. I finished walking up to the front.

"Are you okay?" Rachel whispered as she took the ring that Tobias would wear.

"Yeah, I guess. Just thinking about what the Drode said and all, stuff like that." I turned around and seated myself as fast as I could. Any second, my body might have broke out into convulsions.

Cassie didn't deserve to choose between Rachel's life and my parents' life. She wasn't God, or even the Ellimist. It was all her fault, and she should pay for it.

But she didn't know what the consequences would be. The Ellimist, even though he was on our side, always manipulated us in some way. It wouldn't be a surprise that he had allowed Crayak to wipe out my family.

All of a sudden, everyone was standing up, watching Tobias and Rachel proceed down the aisle. I quickly stood up, and watched as they marched to the limo, and on to their honeymoon. I hoped they could enjoy it, instead of pondering what would have happened in the other future.

"That was freaky." Marco had come up to me. "Rachel was dead, Tobias was a loner…kind of weird, watching all of this happen, knowing what had happened."

"Whatever. I'm getting out of here." I started walking to my car. I had places to go, things to do. Thinking about how happy Tobias and Rachel were wasn't going to cheer me up.

I got in my car and started the engine. Just as I was about to pull out, Cassie ran over and knocked on the window. Great.

"What do you want?" I asked after I rolled down the window.

"Where are you going?" Not exactly answering my question.

"Um, I'm catching a bite to eat. You want to come?" It took every ounce of restraint I had not to just drive away and never look back.

"Sure." She opened the passenger door and sat down next to me.

I pulled out, and started driving. Not to where I was planning to go, not to a restaurant, not to anywhere in particular. I was just driving.

The air in the car was crackling with tension. The silence was deafening, and I was getting madder by the second. Why couldn't she say anything?

"Okay, I lied." I couldn't stand it any longer. "We're going to the cemetery."

Cassie didn't say a word. Until we arrived, the tension built back up. If we were two magnets, we were definitely trying to stay as far apart as possible.

I walked up to the headstone. The flowers I had laid their a year ago were long gone. Some idiot probably stole them and gave them to his girlfriend.

I bent down and touched the cold limestone, marking a place in the ground where my parents shouldn't have been. They should have been with me, I said to myself. Not gone. Here. Alive.

"Happy birthday, Mom," I whispered, laying a bundle of roses on the ground. I couldn't hold back anymore. Tears flowed freely from my eyes, slapping the tombstone with a wet splash. My suit would be ruined, but I didn't care. At that moment, I would have traded all the fame, all the money, everything I had to have my parents back, even for a fleeting instant.

"I'm sorry, Jake." Cassie had knelt beside me. Her eyes were watery, probably faking it. Why would she feel sorry? She got what she wanted, just at my expense.

"Yeah, right," I said a little too loudly.

"What?" Cassie pulled back.

I stood up and wiped my eyes. "You think you can play God, don't you?"

"What are you talking about, Jake?" Cassie questioned.

"You just had to have Rachel back, didn't you?" My voice was growing louder with every word. "Just had to, and not even think about what you might be doing."

"What was I supposed to do?" Cassie said helplessly. "If I don't do that, you're still dead, Rachel's dead, and I disgrace myself forever. Plus, the Andalites probably get control of the Time Matrix."

"And my parents are still alive," I screamed. "It's not your choice to decide who lives and who dies. You're not God."

"So you value your parents' life more than Rachel's?" Cassie shot back.

"It doesn't matter what I think. The fact of the matter-"

"Would you rather have your parents back than Rachel?" she repeated.

I sighed. The adrenaline stopped flowing, and I was suddenly tired. "I don't know, I just don't know." I went over and sat on a bench. Cassie sat beside me.

"You can't worry about it, Jake. Your whole life is ahead of you. You can't kill yourself, wondering about what I should have done. You couldn't have done anything. It was my call, and whether you see it as right or wrong, it's too late to change what's happened."

I looked at Cassie's dark brown eyes, eyes I had stared at before for a different reason. "You're right. I really can't do anything about it." I took her hand and looked out at the Pacific Ocean, seagulls flying across the sun.

Cassie squeezed my hand. "You'll see them someday."

I took a last glance at the calm ocean, the epitome of serenity. Would I ever be that calm? Would my soul ever be at peace with what had happened?

I didn't know the answers. Maybe I never would. It would take a whole lifetime to find out, perhaps even longer. But at that moment, looking for something that no longer existed, I was at peace with the past. The future was waiting to be written. I got up and stretched my legs.

"Let's go."


	28. The End: Final Words

Updated Notes: January 3, 2004  
  
It's been almost 2 ½ years since I wrote this fanfic, and I am still amazed how much Animorphs has affected my life. I haven't read any of the books for some time, but the lessons-of good and evil, of love and pain-have stayed with me since. KA Applegate is an incredible author, and I would like to thank her for writing such an amazing series of books. Most of all, though, I would like to thank the members of the Morphz message board, as well as anyone who took the time to read this. You guys have made me a better writer, pointing out mistakes in my writing. I realize that my books may not be consistent with occurrences in the real world; nevertheless, my aim was to stay consistent with the facts of previous Animorphs books, as well as the style of writing, and I believe that I have done that. To those who have read this fanfic, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even though the series died a couple of years ago, it is because of fans like me and you who keep the spirit of the Animorphs alive. 


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